Influence of Empathy
by Signs of Time
Summary: Upon escaping his nemesis after their latest battle, Ridley crashlands in Wallachia, where he finds himself befriended to one of the local residents. Little does he realize the impact such a meeting will have on his life. (ON HIATUS)
1. The Cyclops's Gaze

_**Author's Note: **__Reposted with the second half of this chapter completely reworked and revised, as I started to feel that I'd written Ridley as too underpowered in spite of him being in a wounded state. So if anyone reading this revised version has read the original, please do not mention it __**ever**__. _

_Still feeling well out of my comfort zone, but I'm going to try sticking with this in spite of my limited knowledge of the Metroid series. And, in spite of my faux pas with the original version of this chapter, I hope to do my best to keep both __Ridley and Samus (when she shows up later) in character. It's also been over a decade since I last played a Castlevania game, (the last being Symphony of the Night) even with as much as I love the series, so I'm a bit rusty when it comes to the later games. I'll be referring mostly to the Netflix series, Simon's Quest, and Symphony of the Night as they're the Castlevania mediums I'm the most comfortable with. _

_Secondly, I'm going to warn that one of the main characters will be an OC of mine, so if you're not a fan of such, it's advised to hit back on your browser now. Also, this is going to be a Ridley redemption fic since I'm one of those weirdos who feels he has the potential to reform, so the prior warning applies here as well for those of you who prefer for him to remain the evil space pirate dragon we all know and love._

_And, finally, this was originally going to be a straight-up Metroid and Castlevania crossover fic, but elements from a few other franchises ended up trickling their way into the planned narrative, so this has become a Super Smash Bros. fic instead. Samus and Pikachu being a duo is strong headcanon for me thanks to Brawl's Subspace Emissary mode, so expect the Electric Mouse Pokémon to appear later alongside her._

_With all that said, please read on and (hopefully) enjoy._

_**Disclaimer: **__As always, Ridley, the Metroid franchise and the Super Smash Bros. franchise are © Nintendo while the Castlevania franchise, its settings and characters are © Konami._

_Special thanks go out to my beta-readers, Ayaluki and CatSnievans, you guys are the best!_

* * *

_**Summary:**_ _Upon escaping his nemesis after their latest battle, Ridley crashlands in Wallachia, where he finds himself befriended to one of the local residents. __Little does he realize the impact such a meeting will have on his life._

_**Warnings**_**: **_Very AU, violence, redemption fic, language, OC, headcanon, eventual Ridley x OC (yep, I'm goin' there.)_

* * *

_**Influence of Empathy**_

_**Arc 1:  
The Search For Simon**_

_**Chapter 1:  
**__**The Cyclops's Gaze**_

* * *

To say that Ridley wasn't having a good day would be an understatement.

The space dragon snarled under his breath as he recalled the most recent battle he'd had with his arch nemesis, the bounty hunter named Samus Aran. He'd faked his death, as he'd done many times before, and it amused him that she _always_ fell for it and gave him an opportunity to land a finishing blow. He'd missed, of course, he _always_ missed, and this set-in-stone outcome infuriated him even as he'd forced himself to turn tail and flee like a coward before he'd jammed himself into the only escape ship that could accommodate his large size.

Hands shaking from the onset of fatigue had forced Ridley to hurriedly input the coordinates to his fleet, and he'd allowed himself to settle down once the craft had taken off from the now destroyed frigate.

Another one lost.

Still, deep down, he couldn't help but consider himself lucky that he'd gotten away without sustaining any broken bones and, more importantly, that he'd escaped with his life.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the sudden unmistakable groan of metal and Ridley swore when his escape pod suddenly gave a violent lurch that caused him to smash into one side of the craft, the jolt aggravating his injuries.

"**Warning: planetfall imminent. Please brace yourself and have a nice day.**"

Ridley snarled in response even as he braced himself for the impending impact, pissed that some joker had decided to be cute and program the escape pod's computer with a fucking _politeness_ setting. Oh, when he got back, he would find the damn sod and kill them to the point where their ancestors would feel it.

* * *

Nearby, within a small town, people began to take notice of the strange ball of light streaking through the evening sky. A few shrieked while others murmured amongst themselves, wondering what kind of omen had presented itself.

A cowled figure stood motionless, their gaze locked upon this strange phenomenon. The sounds of doors slamming shut echoed round the village street as people had begun retreating into the safety of nearby buildings while others hurried along, heads down. The traveler's cloak swished around their lithe form as they turned and headed for the outskirts, keeping their pace to a steady walk so as not to attract unwanted attention to themselves.

A bright flash caused the person to pick up their pace and, once they were clear of the town, they paused for a few seconds, taking time to glance about to make sure nobody was nearby before disappearing into the treeline of the nearby forest.

A moment later, the small form of a barn owl was winging its way in the direction of where the ball of light had landed.

* * *

Ridley forced himself to take a deep breath in order to reorient himself after the pod's impact, and from the roughness of the landing, he knew his craft had landed upon solid ground. Good. Landing in water was always a right pain in the ass.

Ignoring the pain of his aching form, the space dragon flipped the switch that would open the door... only for it to do nothing. Growling, he flipped it a few more times before he cursed and slammed a tightly curled fist down onto the control panel, not caring that sparks were now beginning to pop and sizzle from the now broken machinery.

Today couldn't possibly get any worse.

"**Warning: self destruct sequence activated. You have two minutes to leave the craft in an orderly fashion, thank you.**"

_Shit. Shit, shit, __**shit**__._

"Shut up," he snarled, more in self-frustration than anything as he shifted himself into a better position to brace himself before he kicked the door as hard as he could, gritting his teeth against the pain as his aching body silently screamed in protest. He was rewarded by the sound of groaning metal, however, his effort had only succeeded in denting the door. Muttering a rather creative string of obscenities to himself, Ridley once again braced himself and kicked with every ounce of strength he could muster, repeating the movement twice more until the door finally gave way and fell to the ground outside.

The space dragon wasted no time in pulling himself to freedom before he forced himself to bolt at a hobbling run as the escape ship exploded, the force knocking Ridley off his feet and sending him skidding forward a few feet before he came to a rather ungraceful stop in a heap of wings and limbs.

"Fucking idiot," he berated himself, taking a deep breath before he pulled himself rather drunkenly to all fours and shook himself in order to clear away the dirt and debris, and he had to clench his jaws to keep quiet when a new surge of pain shot up his left hind leg. Snarling, he turned to look at the wound to see a medium-sized piece of shrapnel partially embedded into his thigh. Grimacing, Ridley braced himself as he worked the piece of metal out of his leg, using the sharp barb that tipped his tail to aid in doing so.

Sneering, he threw the piece away from him, not caring that it was coated in his blood as he focused on cleaning the worst of his injuries and found a few smaller pieces of metal in his wing membranes. Cursing under his breath, he removed them, glad that they wouldn't impede his ability to fly... or at least he hoped. Sighing, he slowly moved to sit down before glancing about, trying to get an idea of what planet he'd ended up on, as he'd apparently punched in the wrong coordinates back on the frigate like an inexperienced moron.

He'd touched down in what appeared to be a rather large clearing within a forest, the grass around what remained of the escape ship having been scorched to cinders. It was late evening, the final rays of the sun disappearing and covering the land in darkness, and the beast pondered curling up to rest and recollect himself before he would try to come up with a plan of action. Since he'd left the frigate, he realized that, to his great annoyance, none of his subordinates had even bothered trying to contact him. If anything, they'd probably assumed he'd been killed in the explosion, and the dragon couldn't help but roll his eyes at such a ridiculous assumption. Oh, when he got back to the fleet, heads would be rolling!

His train of thought was derailed when he caught notice of something rather unusual and, brow furrowing in a mixture of confusion and curiosity, Ridley slowly rose to all fours before he limped closer.

It appeared to be a mammalian beast of some kind, possessing four thick legs that ended in long, curved claws. The body was stocky and there didn't appear to be any sort of tail that he could see. The head was large, topped by a pair of short, rounded ears and possessing a short, blocky muzzle, which was currently opened to display a mawful of teeth. The beast wasn't moving, however, not even breathing. Ridley inhaled deeply through his nostrils, and he blinked when he realized he couldn't pick up any sort of scent.

Cocking his head slightly to one side, the reptile raised a clawed hand before he reached out and rapped a knuckle against the creature's shoulder. He blinked when he felt a stony texture instead of living fur and tissue and, from the way the beast was standing up on its hind legs, he realized that it had been trying to intimidate whatever had caused its current state.

_A pity,_ he thought to himself, his upper lip curling in annoyance. While he was capable of eating and digesting plenty of things, stone definitely _wasn't_ one of them. _A creature this size would've made a decent meal until I could hunt for more prey. I wonder what-_

A dull thud sounded from nearby, shattering his thoughts, and Ridley snapped his head towards the sound, his eyes narrowing to glowing amber slits as he turned to face the direction of the nearby treeline, ignoring the pain of his battered form as he did so. His tail lashed in the fading daylight when the sound came again in a slow rhythm that told him he was hearing the footsteps of something around his size - if not larger.

Another fight this soon, both after his battle with the Hunter and from being impaled by shrapnel, was the last thing he needed at the moment; however, the prospect of a good meal, both to regain energy and hasten his natural healing, enticed him to remain where he was and so he waited for the creature to show itself.

What emerged from behind the treeline wasn't exactly impressive, to say the least, and it appeared to stand only at eight or so feet, making it smaller than him, though not by much.

It lumbered forward on two thick legs, and it wore very little clothing, the most being the large amount of cloth around its midsection and what appeared to be straps around its forearms, calves, and crossing over both of its broad shoulders. Said clothing, if it could even be considered that, stood out from the creature's dark gray skin, and it drug a large, thick club behind it as it moved.

The head was what caught Ridley's attention, though, set upon a thick neck and comprising of a maw full of sharp teeth, a pair of pointed ears, and a single, short brown horn jutting out of the top-center of its forehead. The most distinguishing feature, however, was the single large red eye located in the middle of the face, which narrowed upon catching sight of the intruder within its territory.

The overall shape was humanoid, that he could tell by the way the thing moved. Said movements were rather slow, and had Ridley been in top physical condition, he was certain he'd be able to dance circles around it.

_Better kill it quickly,_ he thought, his tail lashing in his rising annoyance at how today just wouldn't let him catch a break. It didn't look particularly appetizing, but it would be better than nothing until the space dragon felt well enough to hunt for a decent meal.

Ignoring the pain of his injuries, Ridley lunged forward before he lashed out with his tail, impaling the creature in the left side of its chest, where he knew the heart was located. He smiled, assuming that it would fall when the deadly barb tipping his tail had pierced its heart, but all it did was pause briefly before it suddenly charged, surging forward at a speed it didn't appear to possess.

_Damn,_ he thought angrily, noticing that not much blood was flowing from the wound he'd inflicted. _I missed! I __**despise**__ it when I miss!_

Snarling, the space pirate withdrew his tail before he crouched, waiting, before he leapt sharply to his right, and he heard the whistle of air that told him that the giant had swiped at him with its club, the accompanying thud sounding a few seconds later.

Ignoring the pain of his injuries, Ridley forced himself to lunge, and he smiled when he felt his claws dig into flesh, his attack surprising the one-eyed humanoid, though not enough to make it drop the weapon. The space pirate wasted no time in raking his claws down the giant's arm, and he purred softly at the sight of the rivulets of dark red blood that began gushing forth from the long gash he'd inflicted.

His smile deepened when the creature shrieked in pain, only to fade when it released its grip upon the handle of the club and quickly reached around to grab the dragon by a wing, and Ridley snarled when he felt the appendage being roughly yanked in a way he knew it was _not_ supposed to bend. He screeched in pain as he felt the bone snap cleanly in two, white-hot pain lancing through his wing and Ridley could barely see the giant as it smiled at him through the haze of pain, its single eye narrowing in triumph.

_For that, you'll __**die**__,_ the pirate thought, taking a deep breath before he exhaled a single ball of plasma into the creature's face, and he grinned as he heard the thing scream in pain as it released him and stumbled back, both hands clutching its face. He wasted no time in utilizing the creature's own weapon against it, wielding it with both hands as he swung and struck the humanoid in the side, putting every ounce of his strength into the blow.

Ridley cackled like a mad thing at hearing the crunch of ribs breaking from the impact, a smile of pure glee spreading across his thin jaws when the giant pulled its hands away from its face, and he saw that the plasma had done its job _beautifully_, the creature's face melted into something twisted and unrecognizable. It groaned in pain, and the space dragon took aim, waiting for a moment before he lashed out with his tail, and he was rewarded by the splurt of blood that told him he'd pierced the thing's heart.

He retracted his tail when the giant fell to its knees, where it stayed for a second before falling onto its stomach, where it remained. The reptile wasted no time in using the deadly barb on his tail to stab the fallen humanoid in the back of the head, piercing into the brain, in order to make sure that it _stayed_ dead.

Now that this threat was taken care of, Ridley had a source of food, though the fact that this thing was humanoid made his stomach churn at the thought of having to eat it. He curled his lip as he sniffed, not liking the stench that filled his nostrils, but he wasn't in any shape to go hunting, especially now that he was grounded, so he would have to force himself to make do.

Grumbling, the space pirate circled to one side of his kill, looking it over before he began tearing chunks of flesh out of the giant's injured arm and swallowing them whole. He grimaced at the taste, remembering a time where he'd been put in a far worse situation than this, and had been forced to devour human flesh in order to survive.

A dull thud from nearby shattered Ridley's less than pleasant thoughts, and he raised his head to look about before returning to feeding when he'd seen nothing. The sound came again, multiple times now, and the space dragon growled lowly when he turned to look a second time, and he saw a humanoid that looked similar to the one he'd just killed, however, some things about it were _off_.

This one-eyed creature was around his own height, and it lacked both clothing and a weapon. It lumbered forward on two trunk-like legs that ended in wide feet, and its grayish skin was tightly drawn over a frame that was rather muscular in build. Its arms appeared similar to its legs, though the upper arms were oddly thin yet still able to hold the thick lower arms and large hands. As with its brethren, the head was what caught his attention, set upon a thick neck and comprising of a maw full of sharp teeth and two sets of nostrils located upon both sides of the face, underneath what appeared to be a single, large eye that was currently shut.

Ridley blinked when the giant stopped its advance, wondering if it was going to charge as the smaller one had done. Instead, this new humanoid opened its eye, the area around the space dragon taking on a soft violet hue. Ridley crouched, preparing to spring, only to snarl and take a step backwards in confusion when he was suddenly engulfed within a beam of pale violet light. It didn't hurt, which he found odd, until he realized that his form was beginning to harden and become rock solid... like stone.

It was in that moment that Ridley remembered the stone mammal he'd seen, and he now realized that he was about to share in its fate.


	2. An Act of Kindness

_**Author's Note: **__PoV switches for this chapter, and I'm still way out of my comfort zone with all the new things I've been trying. The identity of the traveler from the brief PoV shift in the first chapter will be revealed in the next chapter, so I hope this doesn't end up putting people off, as this is something I've always been interested in trying and this fic felt like a good place to finally do so. Also revised, though the original version of this chapter wasn't up long enough, but I feel it still warrants a mention._

_**Disclaimer: **__As always, Ridley, the Metroid franchise and the Super Smash Bros. franchise are © Nintendo while the Castlevania franchise, its settings and characters are © Konami._

_Special thanks go out to my beta-readers, Ayaluki and CatSnievans, you guys are the best!_

* * *

_**Summary:**_ _Upon escaping his nemesis after their latest battle, Ridley crashlands in Wallachia, where he finds himself befriended to one of the local residents. __Little does he realize the impact such a meeting will have on his life._

_**Warnings**_**: **Very AU, redemption fic, violence, language, OC, headcanon, eventual Ridley x OC (yep, I'm goin' there.)

* * *

_**Arc 1:**_  
_**The Search For Simon**_

_**Chapter 2:  
**__**An Act of Kindness**_

* * *

From what they had seen of the flash of light caused by the impact, the traveler had guessed that the ball of light had impacted a little over a mile or so from the village. This assumption proved correct when they flew over a large clearing that looked like a good portion of it had been scorched, and the keen vision of their barn owl form could see that there was a good amount of what looked like some kind of shrapnel littering the area along with the body of a dead cyclops and a few figures, none of which appeared to be moving.

The traveler chose to exercise caution and landed within the treeline close to the edge of the clearing before the cowled figure reverted back to their natural shape. After taking a moment to adjust their cloak, they crept forward, close enough to see out into the clearing while remaining hidden amongst the safety of the trees. After a time, they decided that it was safe to enter the clearing and, as they did so, they waved a hand, producing a small flame that hovered above their upturned palm, which they used as a natural lantern as they proceeded to investigate what had put everyone in town on edge.

The first thing they noticed was, as they'd seen from the air in owl form, that a good portion of the grass was scorched and littered with what appeared to be numerous pieces of shrapnel in varying sizes, all of it made of some kind of metal. Could this have been the object that crashed? It seemed plausible. Frowning, they slowly swept their gaze over what appeared to be some kind of wreckage, but... the wreckage of _what_ exactly? Everything had been destroyed beyond all possible recognition, the remaining pieces charred and twisted.

Sighing in exasperation, the traveler pulled their gaze from the wreckage before they slowly looked about the clearing, a brow arching as they noticed the still form of a bear that stood erect near the back of the clearing. While it didn't appear to be moving at all, the cloaked figure kept their distance, knowing that the big creatures were dangerous to people. Still, it perplexed them why the bear was standing stone-still, and they pulled their attention away in order to continue scanning the clearing until their gaze fell upon what appeared to be a large dragon, noting that this creature was also unmoving.

_First the bear, now this. What is going on?_

This time, the person _did_ move closer, though only slightly, keeping the flame hovering close by as they waited to see if the winged creature would react. When it never moved nor made a sound, the traveler approached cautiously, noting that it was beside the corpse they'd seen from the air and, from a more thorough examination, concluded that the dead cyclops was not of the stone eye variant. The wounds covering the giant gave them pause, and they kept their distance as they turned their attention back to the stone dragon, a shiver lancing down their spine as they examined it.

In comparison to the colossal dragons the person knew of from the stories they'd heard as a child, this one was rather small. While it still stood taller than the traveler by a couple of feet or so in the quadrupedal pose it was in, it would probably barely exceed a height of ten feet if it had been standing on its back legs. The head was also rather peculiar in appearance, seeming more birdlike with the thin jaws (which were parted in a silent snarl) and the short, tapering crest. The wings were accurate, however, being long and membranous, though they were partially folded over the beast's back. One of them seemed a bit off in positioning, which the cloaked figure found strange.

The overall form was rather thin, appearing emaciated, and the limbs were long with the front pair ending in three long, clawed fingers and a shorter clawed thumb while the back limbs ended in two long, clawed toes and a third, shorter clawed toe protruding back from the heel in a similar manner to a bird of prey. The tail appeared to be longer than the dragon's entire body, and it was segmented, appearing to be armored and tipped by a wicked-looking barb that held a tapering edge.

"The wounds on the cyclops appear to have been inflicted by this dragon, or something close to it. If so, then that means this is _not_ a statue," they murmured out loud to themselves, having put two and two together. "So, this dragon gets into a fight with and kills a cyclops, then becomes petrified. It could either be a medusa or-"

A dull thud accompanied by the sounds of rustling foliage caused the traveler to freeze instinctively when they realized that they were hearing footsteps, a few more similar thuds telling them that something large was approaching.

Cursing softly, they closed their hand over the flame, snuffing it out before diving for cover behind the nearest object in the clearing, which happened to be the stone dragon before, keeping their breathing as quiet as they could, the traveler peered out from behind their current hiding place to see the creature step into the clearing, pausing in its advance as it turned its head to listen. The large, singular eye in the center of its head was currently shut, but the faint violet glow behind the lids was unmistakable.

_A freaking stone eye cyclops,_ the traveler thought, a grimace crossing their lips for a moment. _Just when I thought this forest couldn't be any more dangerous, God has to prove me wrong yet again._

Whether they wanted it or not, they were going to have a fight on their hands, lest they wanted to become yet another petrified victim of this damn giant. From what little they knew, this variant of cyclops hunted by hearing rather than by sight, and the magic-user mentally berated themselves for being less than silent while they'd been exploring the clearing and its contents.

The traveler raised their hands to slip the strap of the medium-sized satchel they carried off, knowing that the bag and its contents would do nothing but slow them down. Sighing softly, they hoped that nothing would take advantage of the impending combat to root around in the bag and possibly steal some of its contents, but most of what they carried could be replaced.

_Except for Holly's books, anyway..._ they thought, making sure that the satchel was closed before the cloaked figure left their belongings close to the dragon before they took a breath to steel themselves and lightly stepped out from their hiding place. Keeping a wary eye upon the currently stationary stone eye cyclops, the traveler began to tiptoe towards a particularly sharp-looking piece of shrapnel. While they possessed a dagger, its blade too short to effectively kill the larger giant even though it was perfectly capable of -

Snap!

_... Fuck._

The person gritted their teeth, taking a moment to glare down at the now broken twig that lay underneath the heel of their boot before they turned their attention back to the giant to see it snap its head towards them before it charged.

The traveler grimaced, having very little time to act before the creature bore down upon them. They raised their hands, keeping their right hand close to their forehead before gesturing with their left, two large, sharp blades of ice coalescing into existence in front of them before they sent them flying at the charging monster with a flick of their left hand, the ice lodging itself deep into the giant's right foot.

The monster roared in pain and stumbled, and the magic-user cursed when it merely fell to its uninjured knee and raised a hand to pull the icy blades out of its foot. The traveler wasted no time in conjuring another icy blade, taking aim before letting it fly towards its target...

Only for the ice to impale the cyclops in the left shoulder.

_You've got to be shitting me! Ergh, grab what you were after, idiot,_ they silently berated themselves as they dove forward into a front sommersault, grabbing the piece of shrapnel they were after before they rose back to their feet and took off running, narrowly avoiding the violet beam of light that struck the ground where they'd been standing seconds earlier.

_Fucking hell,_ they cursed mentally as they took cover behind a tree, fighting to keep their breathing quiet as they tried to form a further plan of action. _Okay, it shouldn't be able to charge anymore since I hurt its foot but, apparently, it's too damn tall for me to take its eye out from the ground, even with my magic. Then again, I __**am **__trying to fight this thing during the nighttime, full moon or not. So, it's __**not **__my aim, yeah._

From what the magic-user knew, the only thing in this clearing that would give them enough height to take out the giant's eye was the stone dragon, which was about twenty or so feet away from the person's current hiding spot. Night was growing darker, which meant that there was little time left to kill the cyclops with what moonlight remained. The giant was nowhere to be seen, however, and the traveler felt a cold sense of dread creep over them when they realized that they'd lost track of the damn thing.

They screamed when they felt a large hand grab them before pulling them out from behind the tree, and the giant threw them a good ten feet back into the clearing, a cry of pain leaving the person as they landed hard on the ground.

_How the hell can that thing move so quietly?!_ the traveler thought, groaning as they forced themselves to their feet before they leapt to one side when it fired off its petrification beam, glad that the violet glow of light from the charge-up was a tell-tale giveaway of that attack. Taking a gamble, the person slipped their makeshift weapon onto their belt beside their dagger, freeing up their hands once again so they could cast more easily before they conjured a medium-sized ball of fire which they immediately sent hurtling towards their foe.

The monster roared in pain when the fireball struck it in the chest, and it began trying to pat out the flames. The magic-user smirked before once again drawing the shrapnel, knowing that the cyclops would be too busy trying to put out the fire to try petrifying them again. They ran full bore, making a beeline for the stone dragon before giving a sharp whistle to get the still smoldering giant's attention.

Without breaking stride, the traveler hopped up onto the dragon's back before they jumped, throwing the shrapnel at the height of their jump before casting a gust of wind to give the projectile the momentum it needed, the sharp piece of metal piercing into the cyclops's eye, its head jerking back from the force of the blow.

The person landed on their feet, having to brace themselves against the ground with a hand before they moved to stand and turned to see the monster fall to its knees before falling onto its stomach, the remaining flames snuffed out, and only when it made no move to rise did the traveler turn their back to it, their attention returning to the dragon. The winged beast became surrounded by a violet glow which lasted for a few seconds before fading, and the creature snarled, taking one shaky step forward before falling to one side. Farther on down the clearing, the bear was also freed from the stone curse, and it looked about before it lowered itself back to all fours, turned, and lumbered off.

Exhaling deeply in relief, the traveler returned their attention to the dragon, worry mixing with caution when they saw it make no move to rise. Their belongings were nearby, and the person remained quiet as they moved to retrieve the satchel, happy to see that it had been undisturbed as they slung the strap back over their shoulder and moved to stand. The moonlight was too dim to clearly see what condition the reptilian beast was in, so the traveler once again conjured the little flame they'd used at the start of this entire debacle in order to have a better source of light.

From what they saw, its purple hide was covered in numerous injuries, the worst being deep wounds upon its left side and hind leg along with a particularly nasty-looking cut spanning the length of its right forearm. Its left wing had also unfurled itself into an awkward position that didn't seem right, leading the traveler to believe that it had been broken during its battle with the first cyclops before it had been petrified.

_It's in pretty bad shape, but I should leave,_ they thought, snuffing out the flame that hovered over their upturned palm. _Hurt or not, it's still a dragon, and even if I helped stabilize its injuries, it probably wouldn't hesitate to kill me._

With that thought, they turned to leave, but stopped after taking a few steps before they bit their lower lip and cast a glance back at the wounded beast.

_... Damn it, I can't just leave it to die. Not after I freed it from the cyclops's curse,_ they realized with a soft sigh before they returned to the dragon's side before moving to set their satchel down. Given the creature's size and condition, they were going to have their work cut out for them.


	3. The Benefactor

_**Disclaimer: **__As always, Ridley, the Metroid franchise and the Super Smash Bros. franchise are © Nintendo while the Castlevania franchise, its settings and characters are © Konami. My original character Katja, belongs to me._

_Special thanks go out to my beta-readers, Ayaluki and CatSnievans, you guys are the best!_

* * *

_**Summary:**_ _Upon escaping his nemesis after their latest battle, Ridley crashlands in Wallachia, where he finds himself befriended to one of the local residents. __Little does he realize the impact such a meeting will have on his life._

_**Warnings**_**: **Very AU, redemption fic, violence, language, OC, headcanon, eventual Ridley x OC (yep, I'm goin' there.)

* * *

_**Arc 1:**_  
_**The Search For Simon**_

_**Chapter 3:  
**__**The Benefactor**_

* * *

In the final moment before the petrification had overcome him, Ridley had wondered if this was finally the end; while a deeper part of his mind worried that the one-eyed giant would smash his stone form to pieces in retaliation for killing its kin, and that he wouldn't be able to defend himself from such a grisly fate. This fear soon faded, however, when the creature had turned and retreated back into the forest, only to be replaced by a new fear as the reptile realized that, for some reason, while his body had become stone, his mind had still been aware of the goings-on around him up until the petrification had lifted and he'd fallen unconscious.

The feeling of being trapped within his own unresponsive body was one that he knew he _never_ wanted to experience again, and that the dreamless void he now floated in upon being released from his petrified state was _freedom_ compared to that hell.

Was this what it was like to truly die?

Time didn't matter anymore, and he was content to remain here within this endless expanse of deep black nothing until faint, orange lights began to dance in the distance, their very presence beginning to drive him mad with the desire to snuff them out. These lights were soon accompanied with soft sounds of crackling as Ridley drifted closer to wakefulness and a deep rumble left the space dragon as he slowly opened his eyes, his bleary vision forcing him to close them once again before he waited for a few minutes.

The second try proved more fruitful, and he blinked as his vision cleared and came into focus, realizing that he was still within that blasted clearing and that it was now quite dark save for the light that illuminated the immediate area around him. Confused, Ridley slowly raised his head before he slowly glanced around, trying to pinpoint the source of the light that had so rudely pulled him from his blissful sanctuary.

The scent of fire drew his attention upwards, and he blinked in confusion when he saw four small fireballs floating above him, each set at a point that formed a square around his current location. Who or what could create floating flames? This was going to bother him if he didn't make any sort of effort to find out, so Ridley pulled himself to all fours before he proceeded to stretch in order to get the kinks out of his sore muscles, and he snarled when a sharp feeling of pain lanced through his left wing when he shook himself.

He set his jaw, forcing himself to slowly spread the appendage as he turned his head to access the damage, noticing that the bone had been set with what looked to be a crudely made splint. He tilted his head slightly to one side, wondering who would go to such lengths to help him and _why_? Didn't they know who he was? An odd sensation against his right forearm caused him to look down to see that the entire length, from wrist to elbow, had been carefully wrapped in white cloth and further self-examination revealed that the shrapnel-inflicted wound upon his left leg had been given similar treatment.

His chest had been wrapped with a light brown cloth and this confused him at first until, when he tried taking a deep breath, he was painfully reminded of the extent of the damage he'd sustained in his earlier battle against Samus Aran and her little yellow rodent. While a good number of the smaller wounds that peppered his hide hadn't been covered in cloth, a scent that reminded him of medicine told him that they'd at least been treated.

Curious, Ridley glanced around the clearing, and he was surprised to note that he'd somehow been moved a distance away from the corpse of the humanoid that he'd been forcing himself to feast on before the second giant had surprised and petrified him. Grimacing, he smacked his jaws in a vain attempt to rid himself of the taste and, to get his mind off of it, he continued his observation of the clearing, seeing the body of the second giant, and he smirked, glad that karma had been dealt to it in spades.

A sudden gasp caused him to snap his head around, his tail tensing in preparation to strike but he froze when his gaze fell upon that of a cloaked figure, and the memory of himself silently witnessing their fight with the giant humanoid came rushing back to the forefront of his mind as he recalled that this person had conjured a ball of fire against the thing, leading him to deduce that the four flames that were currently floating above his location were also of their doing.

The person was also standing still from their shared initial shock of the pair seeing one another, and Ridley tilted his head to one side, trying to see underneath the hood that masked most of the person's facial features. While they'd been still while studying him before the battle, they'd never really come close enough for him to see underneath the cowl and this annoyed him beyond belief. He wanted nothing more than to kill them for wasting his time, but something held him back from doing so. Curiosity was a major factor, but an inkling of something else that Ridley had no name for also played a part in his hesitation and, so, he slowly sat down, his amber eyes never leaving who he now knew to be his (as much as he hated using the word) savior.

They bent down for a moment, and the dragon couldn't help the pang of hunger that gripped him when he saw the person lay the corpses of two small, long-eared creatures down at their feet before they backed away. They'd been out hunting, Ridley realized, which was why he'd been alone when he'd first awoken.

"For me?" he asked without thinking, raising his right hand to gesture towards the corpses.

"Yeah," came the reply, their voice sounding female to Ridley, but he held back this assumption until he could get a better look at the person's face.

That didn't matter right now, though, and, without another word, the space dragon whipped his tail forward, spearing one of the creatures before bringing it back to him, dropping it in front of him before he repeated the process with the second corpse, which he immediately tore into once he'd gotten a good grip on it, a mixture of blood and saliva dripping from his jaws as he ate.

He knew he should've taken a small bite to test for poison or any other such sabotage, but he had eaten only a small portion of the smaller giant before his petrification, and his natural regeneration relied upon him providing sustenance for it to perform to its full potential. Depending on how well he could keep himself nourished while on this world, it would take either days or, at worst, weeks for his wing to mend and a similar amount of time for his other major injuries to heal as well.

_Besides,_ his mind pointed out, _why would she go to all that trouble to treat you if she wanted to kill you?_

"How did you end up here?" the person asked, breaking the silence between them. "If it's no trouble to ask, I mean."

Ridley grunted in reply, his mouth currently too full for him to speak coherently until he swallowed and licked his chops, forcing himself to halt in enjoying his meal so he could give them an actual reply. Not knowing their identity was bothering him, though, and instead of answering their question, he chose to sidestep it for the time being.

"I should ask you the same," he replied, the last few feet of his tail waving a bit as he spoke. "And if you wish for me to answer your question, I wish to know the identity of my..." he trailed off, desperately grasping for an alternative word to his earlier thought, "... benefactor."

He arched an eyeridge in silent question when the person fidgeted, the soles of their boots scuffing against the grassy ground. Apprehension? In his own way, he understood their hesitance, as they _were_ in the presence of the most feared being in the galaxy, after all. Hunger forced him to return to feeding; however, he kept an eye on them as he finished off the first mammal, taking time to suck the marrow out of the bones before tossing them aside and grabbing the second corpse, which he tore into just as savagely, finishing it quickly and tossing the bones and some of the viscera aside to join what remained of the first corpse before he set to grooming himself, the brunt of his hunger sated for now.

Movement from the person caused Ridley to pause, not caring that his jaws were still partially coated in blood and bits of gristle as he focused his attention upon them as they stepped closer, into the firelight. He had a feeling that they were merely nothing more than a human, as that species was annoyingly populous, inhabiting many worlds across the galaxy. Still, he decided to keep from ruling out the rest of the other humanoid races that were similar, since he still had no clue what world he'd crashlanded on, after all.

Hesitantly, the person raised their hands to grasp both sides of the pale brown cowl that masked most of their appearance before they slowly pulled it back. Ridley's suspicion was indeed correct when he caught sight of the rounded ears that were framed by brownish-blond hair, most of which appeared to be pulled back while two long locks, which were decorated by a series of colorful beads, framed both sides of the fair-skinned person's neck, the semi-curly ends stopping slightly past their collarbones. Hazel eyes regarded him with a mix of awe and curiosity as the human pushed their cloak back over their shoulders, revealing that they were clad in what appeared to be a dark red chest piece of armor, matched by a pair of dark red bracers that adorned their forearms. The majority of the person's arms were covered in pale brown cloth, which led him to guess that they were wearing a shirt underneath. Lastly, a simple belt and a pair of dark gray pants covered their lower half along with a pair of dark brown boots.

All in all, this human appeared unremarkable, though the way they dressed kept Ridley guessing about their gender, so he chose to go with his earlier assumption about them being female until he was corrected. This piqued his curiosity, however, since most humans he'd seen (before killing) made no efforts to mask whether they were male or female unless they were hiding something. He held on to this second assumption, choosing not to pursue it until he was certain he was correct.

"As for your question, I ended up here by happenstance," he replied, gesturing around the clearing with his tail. "See all that scrap metal? That's what's left of my ship."

"That's a little hard for me to believe."

_Seriously?_ Ridley thought as he stared at her, barely resisting the urge to facepalm hard._ Just __**how**__ backwater __**is**__ this world when it comes to space travel?!_

"Well, we're not too far from a river," she said softly, talking more to herself as her brow furrowed and she raised a hand to tap one side of her chin with her index finger, her gaze shifting to one side for a few seconds before once again focusing on him. "So I suppose that's doable, but how you managed to get it to this clearing is beyond me, unless you're physically strong, anyway."

"No, no, no. A _space_ ship," he corrected, irritation within his tone as he pointed upward with his left hand.

"Oh, so you're the cause of the ball of light I saw earlier this evening," she concluded, her eyes brightening as she lightly hit a fist against her opposite palm, as if she'd just made an important discovery. "That's why I came out here in the first place!"

"... If you want to put it that way, yes," he replied after a few seconds of hesitation, an eyeridge arched at her choice of words. Damn it, was he really stuck on a backwater planet? If so, then Karma had taken her sweet time in punishing him for everything he'd done. Still, there was a chance that the Hunter would track him here. She _always_ managed to find him no matter where he'd go and, as much as he hated to admit it, that would be his only way off this world if they didn't have space travel like he suspected.

_And this human,_ he added silently, turning his head to stare at one of the dead giants for a long moment. _She __**did**__ save my life, and she has a rather interesting ability in conjuring and controlling Nature's various elements. So... if I can gain her trust, having her as an ally should help me against Samus Aran and her goddamned electric rat should they indeed be able to track me to this planet. Except... ugh... having to be... __**nice**__... to a lowly mammal for once is going to be difficult, but the payoff will be worth it in the end once I can rid myself of both this girl __**and**__ that Hunter._

"How are you feeling?" the girl asked, snapping Ridley from his thoughts, and the space pirate turned his attention back to her, confused at why she would be showing concern for someone she didn't really know. "You passed out after the petrification curse lifted, and you were hurt pretty badly."

"Better, mostly," he replied, moving to lie down so he could rest, finding it puzzling that this human didn't seem to be afraid of him, outside of showing some wariness, but that was a part of a creature's natural instincts when faced with something or someone they'd never seen before. "I'd still be under that, what did you call it? Curse. Had you not decided to investigate my ship crashing."

"I don't feel like I did much. I'm not really a doctor," the human admitted, a sheepish tone to her voice. "I didn't have many bandages on me and, given your size, I had to use my spare cloak to bandage the wound on your side and to set your wing the best I could. You're lucky that the break is a clean one. Still... herbal medicine can only do so much, so I'm afraid there's nothing else I can do for it, I'm sorry."

"You could have left me to that fate," Ridley pointed out, his eyes locking with her own as he gestured towards the dead giants with a hand. "But you chose to kill that creature and, in doing so, saved my life. In return, you've earned the right to know who I am. I'm called Ridley, and you are?"

"... Katja," the human replied after a moment of hesitation. "My name is Katja. And I want to apologize if I startled you, I didn't expect you to be awake so soon."

"You did no such thing," the dragon assured, forcing a smile as he waved a hand in dismissal. "Don't worry about me, I've been through _far_ worse than lacerations and a broken wing. I heal quickly, so I'll be fine in a few days."

"I'm glad to hear that," Katja said, a small smile on her lips. "Wallachia is a dangerous place, especially at night."

"That doesn't seem to be stopping you, now does it?" he pointed out as he filed the name Katja had spoken away for later referral if needed, silently noting that this 'Wallachia' was either the name of this world or of an area. "Though using me as strategic cover while I was forced to be a statue was rather rude of you. _Also_, thank you for using me as a spring-board while you were fighting that creature," he grumbled, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he gave her a dirty look. "It was greatly appreciated."

"Like I had a choice! There's a reason why this is called a forest _clearing_, you know," the human female shot back before she stopped, eyes widening in realization of what he'd just said. "Wait... you were aware of _everything_ that happened?"

"Indeed I was," Ridley stated, unable to help the smirk that wormed its way onto his muzzle in response to her sudden embarrassment. "You've never fought one of those before, have you."

"It's called a stone eye cyclops," she corrected, a blush tinting her cheeks from the dragon's accusation before she shuffled her feet and looked away. "And not really, no."

"Then, how did you know how to kill it if you've never faced one in battle before, hmm?" the dragon pressed. Not only was he genuinely curious, but this girl seemed easy to goad, and though she'd basically saved his life, Ridley just couldn't help but have a bit of fun at her expense as a trade-off for having to spare her life... for a time at least.

"I'll show you," Katja snapped before she turned and trotted off to a nearby section of the undergrowth, and Ridley noticed that her long hair had been pulled back into a messy braid. His brow furrowed as he watched her fiddle with something before she came back, and he saw that she was carrying that bag of hers she'd worn before the battle with the cyclops. She unshouldered her satchel before kneeling down and opening it, and Ridley made a mental note to look through it if he ever got a chance to do so whenever Katja was asleep or out hunting.

As he watched, she pulled out a thick, leather-bound book, balancing it upon her knee as she opened it, and she leafed through it before stopping upon a page before she held it up for him to read. He saw that both pages held separate entries, and he focused his attention upon the one that resembled the giant he'd fought and slain. Located beside a black and white sketch of the monster in question was a header written in bold text, and below that was a short paragraph:

_**Cyclops**_

_These mono-eyed giants are usually solitary, though some chose to live with either another individual of their own kind or with their larger variant, the stone eye cyclops. While appearing slow-moving due in part to their hulking frames, these giants are capable of sudden bursts of speed, though only for a short time. They typically wield a large club as a weapon, making up for their lack of a natural eyebeam that their larger counterparts possess. Blinding a cyclops is an effective way of dealing with the creature, though it may fly in to a rage once its eye is destroyed._

Upon the adjacent page was a sketch and entry for the giant that had turned him to stone, and Ridley curled his lip in derision for a second before he set to reading:

_**Cyclops, Stone Eye**_

_While less intelligent than its smaller, weapon-wielding counterpart, stone eye cyclops are more dangerous due in part to the stone curse they can inflict via the violet beams they fire from their single, blind eye. These giants hunt and battle through hearing and, in spite of their hulking appearances, are capable of moving quickly in short bursts of speed. Unlike their counterparts, which feast upon organic matter such as meat, stone eye cyclops feed primarily upon the fear of their petrified victims. The only way to free the victims of a stone eye cyclops's petrification curse is to slay the giant, the most effective way being to disable the eye and destroy the brain._

"Well, then," Ridley murmured quietly when he'd finished, and the girl pulled the book away, closing it before she moved to tuck it back into her satchel.

"It's a bestiary," she explained, her voice holding less of an annoyed tone to it. "It belonged to my adoptive mother, and she passed it on to me when she died. It's been quite useful in helping me to survive out on my own."

"I see," he replied, his tone thoughtful, her words awakening a sense of longing that confused him. As far back as he could remember, Ridley'd never had any parents, and had always known Mother Brain as more of a leader than as a nurturing caretaker in spite of the name her chozo creators had given her. He frowned, burying the uncomfortable feeling as a sudden thought struck him, and he turned his gaze to the human. "I'm, ah, afraid that I have nothing of value on my person to give you in repayment for saving my life."

"Don't worry about it," Katja replied, and the space dragon arched an eyeridge at her in surprise. She... had no ulterior motive for saving him? But that was what people did! ... wasn't it?

"Then, _why_ did you save my life if you want nothing in return?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"I admit that I was afraid of the outcome," she replied softly. "But, in the end, I felt that helping you was the right thing to do."

Her words bothered him.

Not only did she act as if his well being mattered to her in spite of them being of two different species, but they'd only just met and didn't really know anything about one another. _Why_? Why show concern for someone she'd only just met? It was true that he held a commanding presence, but that was only effective on his subordinates, who in turn tended to act more as a hivemind than as individuals when not under the command of a superior being such as himself. It was single-minded individuals who thought for themselves that he would resort to intimidating in order to get them to listen to reason and do what he wanted.

People used other people to get what they wanted, and they allied themselves with others _only_ to gain positions of power. Ridley personally didn't care for such, he preferred killing things just for the hell of it, but fighting for power was the only life he'd ever known... and yet...

And yet, this human girl, who could only truly benefit from having him in her debt (as much as he _despised_ admitting it), had just freed him from any and all obligation to her!

"I... th-thank you... Katja," he replied, his tone sounding alien to his own ears as he moved to lay his head down upon his uninjured arm. "The medicine is beginning to wear off, so I'm going to try getting some sleep."

"All right," she replied, moving to lay a gentle hand on his arm for a moment. "Have a good rest, and when you awaken, I'll need to check your injuries as well as wash and reapply the bandages."

"Very well," he murmured tiredly, his amber gaze locked upon her hand until she pulled it away to shoulder her satchel before she rose to stand. Her touch was warm, and he felt that longing from earlier once again that he didn't fully understand. What sort of person was this human female and _why wasn't she afraid of him_?

Ridley watched her make a few gestures with her hands, three of the flames above him fizzling out and darkening the forest clearing so he could sleep easier while the fourth moved with her farther down the clearing, where the girl settled down and pulled out her book so she could read while she kept vigil. He chuffed softly, shifting a bit in order to find a more comfortable position before closing his eyes.

Originally, he'd planned on feigning sleep so he could study her, but he was so exhausted from the day's events that he was soon fast asleep, his mind churning with unanswered questions.


	4. Answers

_**Author's Note: **__Not really much to say except PoV goes between both our main characters so readers can see into Katja's personal thoughts as well as Ridley's. I also make references to the official Metroid manga at times and apologize if some of you have yet to read it, though a translated version is available online to check out. This chapter is the longest that I've written so far since quite a bit happens and the named frigate Ridley makes mention to in this chapter is of my own creation, since this story doesn't take place during any of the Prime games since he's fully organic. Just wanted to point that out._

_Also, I want to thank everyone who've left reviews, favorites and follows and even if you just peeked in to see what's up but found it not to your liking, thank you for taking a moment to check out my story, it means a lot to me!_

_**Disclaimer: **__As always, Ridley, the Metroid franchise and the Super Smash Bros. franchise are © Nintendo while the Castlevania franchise, its settings and characters are © Konami. My original character, Katja, belongs to me._

_Special thanks go out to my beta-readers, Ayaluki and CatSnievans, you guys are the best!_

* * *

_**Summary:**_ _Upon escaping his nemesis after their latest battle, Ridley crashlands in Wallachia, where he finds himself befriended to one of the local residents. __Little does he realize the impact such a meeting will have on his life._

_**Warnings**_**: **Very AU, redemption fic, violence, language, OC, headcanon, eventual Ridley x OC (yep, I'm goin' there.)

* * *

_**Arc 1:**_  
_**The Search For Simon**_

_**Chapter 4:  
**__**Answers**_

* * *

Ridley awoke a while later, and he was confused for a few moments as he looked around before remembering everything that had happened earlier that day. He blinked in confusion when he noticed that both of the bodies were gone, wondering if, somehow, Katja had disposed of them while he'd been sleeping. Given her size, it seemed unlikely, as there was no way a slip of a girl like her could hope to lift one of those giants. He glanced down, noting that the remains of the meal she'd caught for him was also nowhere to be seen, assuming that her moving _those_ remains seemed way more plausible.

_Good, less of a chance of scavengers coming to bother me,_ he thought crossly, stretching in order to wake himself before he glanced up at the sky, and he was shocked to see that the sun was rising.

_It was early evening when I was petrified,_ he surmised, studying the sky for a few moments as he focused upon the single, bright star that hung in the heavens. _And now it's early morning. Was I __**that**__ exhausted?_

"Good morning, Ridley," Katja greeted softly, and the dragon tilted his head to one side when he saw that she'd moved closer to where he'd slept and that now she was sat beside a campfire instead of keeping the flame floating near her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," he replied, pausing when a wide yawn gripped him. "Better than I have in a while."

_Oddly enough,_ he added silently.

"I'm glad," the human replied, closing her book before she tucked it away in her bag. Afterward, she rose to her feet and stretched before dusting off her pants. She'd removed her cloak, he realized, and after not seeing the garment anywhere after a quick look around, he guessed she'd stowed it in her satchel for safe keeping. "If it's all right with you, I'd like to check your injuries and reapply the medicine."

"If it's absolutely necessary," he rumbled, not giving a straight yes or a straight no. He was still wary about letting her touch and let alone get close to him while he was injured but, if he wanted to heal as quickly as possible, he was going to need her help. "Do what you need to."

"All right," she replied gently before pulling what looked like a waterskin out of her bag, and this was confirmed when she used it to tip some water into an open palm before setting it aside and washing her hands; after which she placed the container back into her satchel and rummaged around its contents for a moment.

Afterwards, Ridley watched the female human approach with what he assumed was a small jar of medicine in hand, and he managed to keep himself completely still save for his breathing when she knelt close to his right arm and reached out to untie the bandage. He barely managed to fight back a shudder of revulsion at her touch when she unwrapped the cloth and set it aside, and he saw her frown, an emotion he had no name for showing itself briefly in her eyes as she studied the wound.

"Is something wrong?" he asked before he could stop himself, and she hesitated in answering for a moment before she shook her head and looked up at him.

"No," she replied, opening the jar before setting the lid aside. "I was just assessing the damage. And this may sting a bit."

"As I said last night: I've been through _far_ worse," Ridley replied, and he clenched his teeth when Katja began applying the medicine to the wound, knowing that he was _not_ going to look forward to her treating his side, leg or wing when a deeply rooted anxiety came bubbling to the surface of his mind.

"You're either tough as nails or quite lucky," she assessed, her tone grim as she worked on the rest of his injuries, though she left his wing alone after checking it over. "I'm sorry you've had such a rough life."

"Shit happens," he stated with a shrug, though he silently commended her on being careful in treating him, unlike the morons who'd been crass enough to forgo sedating him during the times he'd been wounded to the point where parts of him had needed to be replaced by cybernetics so he could live. He forced back a shudder as he locked those memories in the darkest corners of his mind, where they belonged, as being a cyborg was an experience he _never_ wanted to live through ever again; glad that his natural regeneration had eventually been able to reject the mechanical parts once his body had recovered.

"Finished," she announced, taking a moment to screw the lid back onto the jar before she stepped back to look over her work. Satisfied, she returned to her campfire to place the medicine back into her satchel.

Ridley remained silent as he rose to his feet, glad that the medicine she used was an effective painkiller and that its initial contact with his injuries stung far less than he'd originally anticipated. He shook himself lightly before beginning to stretch, only to freeze when she suddenly cried out and reached towards him with a hand.

"Don't! If you stretch too much, you'll risk reopening your injuries. If you need to limber up, take it slowly."

"Why do you care so much? We barely know one another."

"_Because_," her tone made his hackles rise, but he kept himself in check as she closed the distance between them, hazel eyes meeting those of amber as she continued: "Most people wouldn't hesitate to kill you outright, _especially_ with you in such a vulnerable state as you are currently."

"Please," his tone held derision, and he smirked inwardly when he saw her eyes widen slightly. "Humans are one of the _weakest_ species in the galaxy when you're not hiding behind your machines or your weapons, so I _highly_ doubt a human from your backwater world could even hurt me."

Said smirk broke through the mask of neutrality he'd been trying to maintain during their staredown, and he saw her gaze harden before she gave a sigh and moved to gather up the impromptu bandages.

"Are you naturally this obtuse or are you just pissed off about the cyclops?"

"Mm, I don't know, both?" His smirk widened when she gave him a certain gesture with her left hand, amused that she knew something so universal despite being on a backwater world. Maybe others from the galactic community had visited here in the past? He pushed that thought aside as his focus returned to her question, and he remembered something in correlation to it that had been bothering him since he'd awoken. "How'd you move the damn things anyway?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Katja snapped before turning her back to him completely, and Ridley had to fight down the urge to facepalm hard at how he'd handled things. Sure, goading her was fun, but pushing her metaphorical buttons _too_ much would more than likely _not _bode well for him in the long run.

_**Especially**__ if you want to coax her to your side, imbecile,_ his mind (who suspiciously sounded like Gray Voice) snapped at him. _Keep this up and you'll push her to abandon you before you've had a chance to even begin recovering! Constantly butting heads with your benefactor is __**not**__ the way to gain her trust!_

Still, he couldn't help feeling... _intrigued_... at the fact that Katja actually had the gall to push back whenever he would test her, but he had a feeling that it was partially because she had no clue about who he was.

_If she knew __**that**__,_ 'Gray Voice' warned in his mind, _she would hate you - just like all the others you've met during your sorry excuse for a life._

Crushing the thought, Ridley exhaled deeply through his nostrils, his tail twitching a bit as he tried to think of what to say as he watched the human female shoulder her bag before she doused the fire with a single gesture, a soft orange glow surrounding her fingertips as she did so. Having to apologize, even if he didn't resort to using the exact words, was going to be hell and it would be _so much_ easier just to slay her and leave, but...

He had no clue why, but that idea - one he'd followed without hesitation _countless times_ in the past when it came to others he'd been forced to interact with for a time - felt _wrong_ for some reason he just couldn't understand.

Just... _what_... made _this_ human so... tolerable?

"Hey."

He blinked in surprise at the soft tone and, when she met his gaze once again, he noticed that hers was filled with what he knew to be regret, even though he'd only ever experienced such a weak emotion once in his life - and _that _had led to the creation of his greatest foe.

"I'm sorry for such a smartass comment," she continued, and he was grateful that he didn't have to apologize after all. "It's just a kneejerk reaction I have to people when they're rude to me for little to no reason."

"I'm used to it," he replied, raising a hand in a gesture of dismissal. "So don't worry about it."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence between them after that, neither human nor space dragon wishing to make eye contact with the other until Ridley heard Katja's light footsteps as the girl began to move off into the surrounding forest.

"I'd better get these washed for you," she said absently, and his brow furrowed in confusion at her tone when he realized that it held... sadness? What?

"Last night, you said there's a river nearby," he recalled, changing the subject as he trotted to catch up though he stayed behind her, preferring to keep a certain distance between them. "How far?"

"About a ten minute walk from that particular clearing," Katja informed, and the pirate commander silently took note of how the human paused a few times to break a bit of foliage, knowing that it was a way of letting one know how to return to a point of interest. Good. The last thing either of them needed was to become lost in the forest, which, as he'd learned the hard way on a mission back in his youth, was ridiculously easy to do.

The sound and scent of water soon came to him, and Ridley realized just how damn thirsty he was. As soon as the river came into view, he broke into a loping run, dodging around Katja and ignoring her when she called for him to slow down. The space dragon slid to a stop at the water's edge, his claws digging furrows through the soft soil as he plunged his head into the water and drank his fill.

* * *

Katja sighed and shook her head, an amused smile creasing her features as she watched the reptile run ahead like an excited child. She kept a respectful distance from Ridley as she joined him at the edge of the river, and she chuckled when he pulled his head out of the water and shook it, sending droplets of the liquid flying everywhere.

"Better?" she asked, and she had to bite down on the corners of her mouth to kill her laughter when she saw strands of aquatic plants stuck to the small horns that framed Ridley's face when he turned his head towards her, making him look like a river monster.

"I _know_ you're trying not to laugh," Ridley growled, and his choice of words coupled with his annoyed tone only caused a snort to escape Katja in spite of her effort to stifle it. "It's _not_ funny."

_Yes, it is!_

"Sorry," the magic-user replied, her voice trembling from the suppressed emotion, and a giggle slipped out as she watched the dragon pull the offending plantlife off his face before he glared at it in complete offense and threw it back into the water. He exhaled deeply through his nostrils in reply as he stared at her through slightly narrowed eyes for a moment before he occupied himself with trying to fish.

While Ridley splashed about in his attempt at catching breakfast, Katja removed her cloak from her satchel and set it down on dry ground so she could lay his bandages on it once she'd set to work on cleaning them.

_I know I should tell him to stop before he washes the medicine off,_ she thought as she worked, and she rolled her eyes heavenward for a brief second. _But I __**know**__ he'd just ignore me. For some reason, he seems to believe he's invincible, which is a __**very **__dangerous mindset to have in an environment like this. Reapplying the medicine isn't difficult since he's a cooperative patient, surprisingly enough, but there's only so much I have remaining before I'll need to make another batch._

She gave a sigh of worry as she glanced over at the dragon, and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw that he'd caught a decent number of fish for himself before he settled down to feast. He narrowed his eyes and pulled his catch closer to himself in a possessive manner when he caught her watching him even when she raised her hands towards him in a placating gesture.

"I had breakfast while you were sleeping, so I don't want any," she assured and he relaxed, though only slightly, and he kept an eye on her as he finished his breakfast before he waded partially into the water to lie down and rest. The young woman watched him for a moment, a slight frown creasing her lips. Didn't he realize he was washing the medicine off his injuries or was he doing it on purpose just to spite her?

The second notion sounded more like Ridley, and Katja sighed softly, whispering the dragon's name in exasperation as she returned to the task at hand, and she was halfway done when movement from the water at the edge of her vision caught her attention. Remaining silent, she turned her attention to the area of the river where the flicker of movement had come from, and the human shot to her feet at seeing half a dozen large reddish-brown fins slicing through the water as they headed for the pair's location on the bank.

* * *

"_Get out of the water!_" Katja cried, her tone frantic, and Ridley snapped his head up, his attention focused on the girl as he glared at her for disturbing him. "_**Now!**_"

"Excuse me," he snapped, offended at her sudden command, but the rest of his retort died on his tongue when he felt something slimy grab one of his legs and pull hard. Snarling, the space pirate kicked with his other leg, his claws raking against something that promptly released him, and he wasted no time in pulling himself to his feet before he leapt onto the bank, his injuries aching in protest.

_Splashing about in water like a child wasn't the smartest thing to do,_ the part of his mind that sounded like that damn chozo admonished. _You washed off the medicine and now you have a fight on your claws._

_Fuck you,_ he shot back silently as he stabbed his tail upwards at a humanoid creature that leapt out of the river at him, the blade sinking deeply into its chest with a satisfying crunch._ I didn't know!_

Ridley snapped his tail like a whip, throwing the monster off, where it landed on the bank in a crumpled heap, blood seeping from the wound in its chest. He took time to study it, noting that it held both the features of a lanky man and a fish. It was covered in reddish-brown scales, its hands and feet possessing webbed skin between each clawed digit. As with the two cyclops he'd encountered yesterday, the head of this creature was what grabbed his attention. It was more fish-like than human-like, comprising of a wide maw filled with sharp teeth situated above a pair of large black eyes and a pair of fins framed the face where ears would normally be.

Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and the space dragon turned to see Katja gesture with both hands, the light around her fingertips glowing a soft blue as she commanded the water to rise up in a wave, which then froze into a wall of solid ice when the girl crossed her hands over her chest. Two of the fish creatures had been trapped inside the ice, which eliminated them for the time being and left three for the pair to face.

_Make that four,_ he corrected silently when the one he'd stabbed began to stir. Ridley sneered, inwardly scolding himself for getting sloppy with a technique that should've killed the thing outright. Wasting no time, he leapt onto the fish-man, effectively pinning it onto its back with his wounded leg before he grabbed one of the creature's arms and tore it from its socket, the sound of bone and flesh tearing music to his ears. He smiled when the monster gave a gurgling cry of pain, and Ridley chose to show it mercy by tearing its throat out with his teeth, taking a moment to swallow the flesh before he turned away from the dying creature to deal with the second humanoid that dared to challenge him.

* * *

While her reptilian cohort was busily tearing two of the mermen apart, Katja had her own problems to deal with as two of the aquatic creatures advanced toward her. The magic-user remained calm, having battled these creatures a few times before, so she knew how to deal with them. The two monsters were halted in their advance when Katja made a gesture with her hands, causing the soft earth beneath their feet to rise up to their calves before hardening and rendering them unable to move.

While one merman tried to free itself from the earth that had adhered to its legs, the human girl saw the second one take a deep breath, knowing that it was going to exhale a ball of fire at her. She concentrated, raising her left hand close to her face in a partial fist as the tips of her first two fingers became surrounded by a soft orange light.

_Oh, no you don't._

Her expression remained neutral when the fish creature's hands shot up to its throat in confusion, its own internal fire expanding and causing it to combust before it exploded in a mess of fire and gore. The second merman had ceased its attempt at freeing itself to stare in confusion at its comrade before it turned its black-eyed gaze towards the girl, a gurgling snarl leaving it.

Wordlessly, Katja conjured a large blade of ice which she'd planned on using to slay the creature, only to hesitate when it drew back, its dark eyes wide in fear. The magic-user frowned, lowering her hands and causing the icy blade to fall to the ground where it shattered - only to scream in surprise when Ridley's tailblade suddenly erupted through the merman's chest before the dragon rose into view and wordlessly tore its head from its shoulders.

He scowled at her, and she was afraid that he was going to hurt or even kill her when, after unceremoniously throwing the headless corpse to one side, Ridley moved forward to firmly grasp her by the shoulders, his amber eyes burning into her own hazel ones.

"Hesitation after you slew the other one?" he asked, his tone hard. "Weren't you the one who told me this world of yours is dangerous? Hmm?"

"I-"

"Foolish girl, what did you _think_ would happen if it had been allowed to live?! You do _not_ hesitate in killing something that tried to kill you beforehand," he snapped, and she tore her gaze away, only for him to release one of her shoulders in order to force her to look at him again. "Out here, Nature's word is law: it's kill or be killed. There is _no_ concept of mercy. _No_ hesitation. _No weakness._ You either fight to live or you die and such weak emotions and ideals will _only_ serve in your own downfall."

As much as she didn't want to admit it, she knew that Ridley was right. Being a predator, he had years, possibly decades or longer, of experience of survival in the wild in comparison to her mere two years of being out on her own. If anything, that merman was probably attempting to lower her guard by playing on her human emotion of sympathy before it would attempt to kill her. Still... another part of her believed that the merman's fear had been genuine, but she wisely kept this notion to herself before she carefully chose her words.

"I'll be more careful," she whispered, her voice refusing to work, and he nodded in approval before finally releasing her.

_It's a good thing he doesn't know how long you've been out in the wilderness by yourself,_ she scolded herself. _Or he would've berated you about that as well._

The young woman clenched her teeth as she turned her back on Ridley and, with a single gesture, she caused the ice wall to shatter, instantly killing the two mermen who'd been trapped within.

* * *

The space dragon jerked at the sudden noise that sounded like many glass mirrors shattering at once, and he quickly turned his wide-eyed gaze to see the ice wall break apart into a myriad of shards, the two fishmen trapped within ripped apart in a shower of blood and gore.

_Shit, I need to watch myself,_ Ridley thought as he slowly turned his attention back to the human, glad that he hadn't upset her enough to use such an ability against himself... yet.

_Relentlessly berating her is __**not**__ the way to get her on your side, moron,_ that certain part of his mind added, causing the space dragon to grit his teeth in frustration._ You'd better do something to fix this and quickly._

He needed to remember that she was a free-thinking individual like himself and not part of a hivemind like his underlings. He sighed, raising his left hand to rub his temples before he approached the girl and cleared his throat.

"I didn't mean to be so harsh on you," he said, forcing himself to speak as softly as he could manage. "I don't interact with humans on a normal basis, so there's not much I understand about your kind."

"I figured as much," she replied thickly, but she refused to look at him as she kept to her task of cleaning the rest of the bandages. "I don't know much about dragons, so, we're both at fault."

_If that's what she chooses to believe,_ he thought irritably, the last foot of his tail twitching. _At least she admits to being in the wrong, but she __**needed**__ to be taught a lesson._

"Finished," she informed, bringing him from his thought as she closed her cloak around the bandages and moved to shoulder her satchel before rising to her feet. "We can go back now."

"Very well," he replied, only to snarl lowly when pain shot through him, and he silently berated himself for pushing his still wounded body too early as he forced himself to follow her at a slow limping pace. _This is fucking embarrassing._

"Good, take it easy," Katja soothed gently, and he blinked in surprise at not only her tone but at the fact that she'd stopped to wait for him. She'd seemed so hurt by his words merely a few minutes earlier, and she'd put it behind her just like _that_? _How_?!

It was slow-going back to the clearing, and Ridley slowly moved to lie down after he allowed the human to reapply her medicine to his wounded leg, knowing that she could easily reach the rest of his injuries while he was in a more comfortable position. Most of the smaller cuts were well into the process of closing up and healing, leaving his major wounds as the source of concern for both of them.

He remained silent, watching as Katja got a smokeless fire going before she carefully wrapped the bandages around some of the longer pieces of shrapnel from the remains of his escape ship and set them into the ground around the fire in order to dry the still wet cloth before she hung her cloak on a low-hanging branch in order to dry it out. He grimaced when a cold shiver crawled down his back, forcing him to clamp down on those terrible memories before they'd had a chance to resurface once again.

"What do you plan on doing with the remnants of my ship?" he asked, his tone wary when he noticed that she'd gathered the shrapnel into a pile nearby.

"Hmm? I'm not sure, honestly," she admitted as she turned to look at him. "I might keep a few of the smaller ones for more mundane tasks so I won't have to rely on my dagger anymore. It's not a steel blade, so I have to sharpen it more often."

"What metal do you use?" he asked curiously, though he knew that the answer would be underwhelming.

"Silver. I know it's not as durable as steel, but silver can harm certain monsters."

_Steel? Silver? Seriously? There's plenty of stronger metals out there,_ he thought to himself as he held back a groan. _If I have to stay on this damn world for much longer, I'm going to go crazy!_

"Oh, really. How so?"

"It causes pain upon physical contact," she explained and he arched an eyeridge. "And some monsters are even burned."

_What sort of world __**is**__ this?_

"Why would you resort to using a simple blade, odd properties or not, when you can command the elements?"

It was a simple question, but Katja stared at Ridley as if he'd suddenly sprouted a second pair of wings. The female human looked away before she began berating herself under her breath, too quiet for him to make out what she was saying. From her tone, however, he knew that she was rather upset and he blinked in complete confusion when she rose to her feet and began to pace.

"...Katja?" _Just what put you on edge all of a sudden?_

"I'm sorry," she muttered after finally calming down a few minutes later, and she fell to her knees before she held her head in her hands. "I... I never should have let you accompany me to the river."

Frowning, Ridley rose to his feet before he moved a little closer, though not enough to distress her even further. Her sudden shift in behavior was troubling to him, as if a wall of stone had suddenly appeared between them. If he couldn't get her to confide in him then he would never understand what was bothering her and this, in turn, could lead to a rift between them that he didn't need. At least not yet.

"Katja, I don't mean to pry, but why are you so ashamed of letting others see your abilities?" he asked, his question a genuine one. It confused him that she seemed _ashamed_ of the power she could command, _especially_ after how she'd used it around him so freely up to this point. "In all my travels, I've _never_ seen anything remotely close to what you're capable of so I can't help but be curious about them."

"I'm sorry, Ridley, but I... I don't want to drag you into my personal problems," she said after a few long moments of hesitation, and she raised a hand to clutch it into a tight fist against her chest. "If... if the wrong people find out about my abilities, they'll stop at nothing to kill me."

The pirate commander paused as he focused on collecting this new information. She must have been involved in some kind of conflict if there were others after her, _especially_ if they wanted to kill her. Damn it, why did these things happen to him? Why couldn't things ever be simple? He closed his eyes, pondering on what course of action he should take. The notion of more conflict with hostile locals did _not_ sit right with him, especially with how weak and vulnerable he was currently thanks mainly in part to him being unable to fly.

Sure, he could kill the human and be done with it, but what was the point? Samus had yet to make her presence known if she'd succeeded in tracking him to this backwater planet, and Ridley knew that he would be screwing himself out of a potential ally to use against her when they'd have their inevitable confrontation. On the other claw, if Katja's enemies had managed to track her here, killing her would be a futile action on his part. Besides which, he would prefer to have all the information on these enemies of hers before he did anything more. And so, it was then that Ridley made his choice.

Steeling himself, the reptile willingly closed the distance between himself and the girl before he reached out to set a steady hand upon her shoulder and he barely managed to fight down the feeling of revulsion at having to touch her _willingly_. She froze at the initial contact, and he knew it was because he'd handled her roughly back at the river and figured she was bracing for a repeat of it.

"Katja," he said, doing what he could to keep his tone gentle and even, his voice sounding wrong to his own ears. "You saved my life so, either way, I'm _already_ involved. If there are indeed people out to kill you, then you should tell me about them so I can help you."

It was then that he realized that they were in a similar position, and he had to fight to keep his expression neutral when he realized that gaining her allegiance would be easier now if he were to tell her of his own plight.

_Like killing two birds with one stone._

"I understand the situation you're in," he continued. "I, too, am being hunted."

"You are?" she asked, her tone now soft and less on edge. "May I ask by whom?"

"It would be easier if I told you a little about myself first," he stated before withdrawing his hand and sitting himself down close to her left.

"Sure, I _would_ like to know how you ended up petrified by that stone eye cyclops."

_Did you seriously have to bring __**that**__ up?_ he thought irritably, but he chased it away before he began a long monologue, starting with how he'd grown up completely alone and that, after many fruitless searches for other members of his species, he'd concluded that he was the only one of his kind. He then explained how he'd fallen in with the Space Pirates and of how the group was a ragtag organization of different species rejected by the rest of the 'civilized' galaxy, which forced them to steal what they needed to survive. Most importantly, he told her of his numerous conflicts with Samus Aran and of the recent battle he'd had with her on the frigate _Galleon_, which she'd destroyed and he'd barely escaped. This, in turn, had ended up with him crashing here in this clearing, where his escape ship exploded (though he withheld his temper being the cause of this) before fighting and killing the first cyclops, which led to him being surprised and petrified by the stone eye cyclops before Katja had found him.

By the time he was finished, he'd woven a half-truth about how he and the Space Pirates were underdogs trying to survive whilst being challenged by Aran and the Federation, all the while keeping his true reputation a secret. A few times, Katja had interrupted to ask a question, and he'd forced himself to patiently answer. In spite of these few hang-ups, the human had listened to him quietly, her expression one of partial awe and sympathy.

"I can't believe she left you to die on an exploding ship," Katja whispered as she slowly shook her head, the beads in her hair clinking together faintly. "I'm glad you were able to make it out."

"So am I," he added. "And that's how I ended up crashing on this world and how you were able to find me. Now, what of yourself?"

He saw a look of apprehension cross her features, but it was a fleeting one before the girl took a deep breath and shifted into a different position to where her knees were tucked close to her chest. He gave her time to collect herself before Katja began her own tale:

"I'm from a city upon the eastern border. I was a foundling, meaning that my adoptive mother, Holly, found me on the doorstep of her home when I was a baby."

"So, your birth parents threw you away?"

"I don't know," she admitted softly. "And neither did Holly. She told me there was nobody present when she found me, but I don't really think about it anymore. They had their reasons and I don't really want to waste the rest of my life questioning why."

"Fair enough, I suppose," Ridley stated, though his tone was curt. "At least you had someone to raise you... Carry on."

"When I was three, I began showing signs of being able to use magic and, well, being a little kid, I didn't know how to keep it under control. There were more than a few accidents, but my adoptive mother was very patient with me. She had similar gifts, though hers focused more on plantlife than the elements as my own abilities do. As you've seen, I can conjure and control fire, ice and water. I can also conjure and command wind and earth, but only to an extent and I can't control lightning or the weather, it's _way_ too volatile."

"Can you control plants like she could?" Ridley asked curiously as he filed the term 'magic' away for future reference, glad that he now had a general name for her abilities. He remembered that she'd mentioned her adoptive mother last night while showing him the two cyclops entries in her bestiary, including the detail that her parent was deceased. Still, he chose to remain silent on the matter, knowing all too well that humans tended to react poorly to the death of one of their own, though the more morbid part of him was curious about how it had occurred.

"No. Every magic-user is different, though we can learn other skills we weren't born with, as I was able to learn one spell that deals with shapeshifting. Some schools of magic come naturally to an individual, while others are harder to learn or even impossible. Flight and learning to work with plantlife are both skills that are impossible for me, I just can't learn either no matter how many times I try."

_Flight without wings?! That's possible without technology?! _The space pirate kept his shock to himself, not wanting to sidetrack her anymore, though he did appreciate how she would explain things to him even when he didn't feel the need to ask. And though he'd seen examples of shapeshifting, the person who'd been able to do so wasn't a human, so he found it surprising that such an ability could just be _learned_ by someone who hadn't been born with it.

He remained silent, his attention focused squarely upon the human girl sat next to him as she drew a deep breath and continued:

"Even though I was proud of my magic, Holly explicitly forbade me to use it outside the house. Most people are incapable of magic, and... well... what they don't know frightens them. People who can't use magic become... upset... if they learn that there's someone - especially a woman - who can do so living within their general vicinity. They... they have a term for us: witch."

Katja spat the word as if it were venom on her tongue, and Ridley frowned when he saw her shudder. He began putting the pieces together and he felt himself, for some inexplicable reason, growing angry at the possibility he'd silently drawn up of why this young human was out here on her own.

"They found out, didn't they."

"They did but, thankfully, they were tolerant of us once they learned the truth."

"Tolerant?" Ridley felt his anger bubbling to the surface at the word, his voice filled with derision as he spoke. "No, of course they wouldn't _accept_ you for being different."

"They didn't chase us out or try to kill us. Neither of us made pacts with demons or practiced dark magics, so we had little to worry about. Plus, my adoptive mother was a skilled herbalist and people paid well for her medicine and remedies."

"Your... mother... taught you her craft, I take it?" the dragon asked, hoping to take his mind off of his sudden feeling of upset. The girl relaxed, a soft smile creasing her features at his words.

"Yeah, she did. I may not be able to work with plants the way she could, but I've always enjoyed learning about them and about how they can help myself and others."

"She did well in teaching you," he murmured before he even realized he'd spoken, and he glanced down at his right arm for emphasis. What shocked him the most, however, is that he actually _meant_ such a compliment. "Most of my minor injuries are already partially healed, so it shouldn't be much longer for the worse ones to follow suit. With what meager fare I've been living on since last night, the regenerative process would normally take longer. Your medicine has done well in aiding my recovery."

"Thank you, Ridley," Katja replied, her tone holding a warmth that he'd never had addressed towards him before, and the space dragon coughed before looking away for a few seconds as he tried to shrug off the wave of discomfort that had suddenly washed over him. Shit, was he actually beginning to... _like_... this human?! She'd saved his life, true, but he had to focus on his priorities, damn it!

"Yeah," he replied, his voice oddly soft and he shook his head lightly in an attempt to mask his embarrassment at his earlier words. "Go on."

The magic-user took a deep breath before exhaling, and he noticed that she was now hugging her knees closer to her chest before she continued:

"Things changed two years ago. A noblewoman arrived in our city, her name was Carmilla. Everything was fine at first but, then, people began accusing us of using witchcraft in our medicine to poison people instead of healing them. These accusations began shortly after that woman had come to us for a few herbs she needed for her own recipies... or so she claimed."

"And they believed some stranger over the word of two people they'd known for years?"

"Yeah, they did. Because they found evidence in the form of plants that are known to be poisonous to people: deadly nightshade, castor beans..." she trailed off, and Ridley blinked when Katja suddenly struck the ground with a tightly closed fist. "These were things we _never_ kept! That... that _bitch_ planted them among our herbs to frame us!"

She ran a hand through her hair, and her voice was a whisper when she spoke again:

"It was the last straw when the bishop's son fell ill and died, and we were seized and bound in iron chains so we couldn't use our magic to defend ourselves. I... I was forced to watch them... burn Holly alive..."

"How did you escape?" he asked, his complete attention upon Katja even though she refused to look at him.

"Someone saved my life and helped me to escape, though not before I returned home to grab a few important things. I'm just glad they hadn't burned our house down beforehand, it was too close to the neighboring buildings. I only ever got his name before we parted ways, but I've been searching for him ever since because I need his help. And that's why I was headed for Transylvania before I met you."

"Was?" Ridley asked, arching an eyeridge. "What's changed?"

"Well, as rude and obtuse as you can be, I'm not about to up and leave you while you're still hurt," Katja replied softly, a small smile forming on her lips as she looked up at him. "It's just a lead I have on his whereabouts, but that's not important right now. What's important to me is for you to recover and I'm going to see that you do."

The space pirate found himself at a loss for words, and he glanced over towards the bandages, noting that they still looked rather damp.

_Not used to being treated like a person, are you?_ that certain part of his mind asked in what seemed almost a mocking manner before turning around to give a warning:_ This gamble of yours will have huge ramifications for both of you if it backfires._

_I __**know**__, but what choice do I have?!_

"I... thank you for your help," he said finally, finding it hard to speak. "And for listening to me."

"You're welcome," Katja replied gently, her hazel gaze softening as he looked down at her. "And thank you for listening to me as well."

He merely nodded in acknowledgement to her words, and he couldn't help but cant his head slightly to one side when the girl suddenly yawned and raised her hand to her mouth to muffle it. He took a few seconds to glance up at the sky, noting that it appeared to be around noon from the sun's current positioning.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked, curious. Katja yawned again before shaking her head lightly and raising a hand to rub her eyes.

"All night," she admitted sheepishly, running her long braid through a hand before she pushed it back over her shoulder. "You needed the rest, and I'm used to being up at night now and have been so for the past year and a half. I've found that it's safer to sleep during the day."

"Rest, then," he replied, not completely believing her statements about daytime on this world being safer after what had unfolded back at the river. "I'll wake you when the bandages are dry."

"Okay," she murmured as she stood and stretched before moving to the opposite side of the fire, where she removed her chestpiece, bracers and belt before adjusting her shirt and stretching out on the ground, her satchel serving as a makeshift pillow.

Ridley watched her for a while, until her breathing became slow and even before he settled down with a soft sigh.

_Damn it, what have I gotten myself into?_ he thought, his amber gaze still lingering upon the now sleeping magic-user before he looked away. He needed to think everything over, especially now given what he'd learned about his unlikely companion had only served to raise more questions.

* * *

Neither of them had ever become aware of the pair of eyes that had been observing them from the shadows of the treeline on the opposite side of the clearing and, for this, the white wolf was glad.

He'd been tracking the young woman ever since he'd heard the rumors of a witch that had been seen around various parts of Wallachia, and had finally found her a few nights ago; however, before he'd been able to approach, the strange dragon from beyond the sky had mysteriously appeared and he knew that this creature's presence was going to complicate matters.

All he could do now was remain within this form and wait.


	5. Scars

_**Author's Note: **__Holy shit, this chapter was a right pain in the ass to write because it ended up going in a different direction than I'd meant for it to previously. I'd also like to drop a reminder that the premise of this fic is based mainly off the Castlevania Netflix series, so some aspects of the games, especially the later titles, won't apply here._

_Special thanks go out to my beta-readers, Ayaluki and CatSnievans, you guys are the best!_

_**Disclaimer: **__As always, Ridley, the Metroid franchise and the Super Smash Bros. franchise are © Nintendo while the Castlevania franchise, its settings and characters are © Konami. __My original character, Katja, belongs to me._

* * *

_**Summary:**_ _After his latest battle with his nemesis, Ridley crashlands in Wallachia, where he finds himself befriended to one of the local residents. __Little does he realize the impact such a meeting will have on his life._

_**Warnings**_**: **Very AU, redemption fic, violence, language, OC, headcanon, eventual Ridley x OC (yep, I'm goin' there.)

* * *

_**Arc 1:**_  
_**The Search For Simon**_

_**Chapter 5:  
**__**Scars**_

* * *

Ridley woke Katja a few hours later, and it took a few minutes for him to rouse her. She grumbled something he couldn't really comprehend before the human rolled over and put her back to him. Annoyed, Ridley shook her again, this time a bit harder, and he was met with a pair of narrowed hazel eyes when Katja suddenly sat up and glared at him.

"_Quit,_" she hissed, only to pause when she realized whom it was she was growling at, and the space dragon had to fight to keep a straight face when the girl suddenly seemed to wilt in embarrassment. "Shit, Ridley, don't do that."

He merely gave an amused rumble at her sudden shift in tone as he backed off and allowed her to stretch in order to wake before she donned her armor while muttering to herself as she moved to sit closer to the fire. Ridley laughed inwardly when he saw how her hair was sticking out in random directions but, unfortunately, his mental laughter turned into audible snickering that caused Katja to shoot him a dirty look over her shoulder before she unbraided her hair and fished a small odd-looking stick out of her satchel, which she used to begin taming the chaotic mess.

"Yes, yes, groom your hair," he teased, unable to help himself, the last foot of his tail waving in amusement. "While I lie here ailing."

"Would you rather I tend to you while I'm half-asleep?" she asked wryly, not looking at him as she worked on pulling her beads out of her hair and placing them into a tiny pouch that she'd sat next to her bag. "Because I'd be happy to if that's what you really want. Starting with your wing."

"Mm, on second thought, I'd prefer _not_ to have it broken further," he concluded, his smirk never leaving as he fell silent and waited for her to finish. Unbound, Katja's brownish-blond hair fell to about mid-back, though it was a little difficult to tell with the curly ends, which, to his amusement, would slyly spring back into place after pretending to straighten out each time the girl ran the stick through them.

As much as he hated the species, Ridley _did_ find human hair to be somewhat interesting, given how both males and females tended to preen and, sometimes, adorn their hair with different things, such as the beads Katja tended to wear in hers. Still, on some level, it reminded him of birds, and the space dragon felt his stomach churn uncomfortably at having made such a comparison between two creatures he equally despised.

"Finished preening, little bird?" he asked, unable to resist teasing her some more when he saw Katja set the stick down beside the little pouch, and she turned to stare at him with a brow arched in a quizzical manner.

"... I have," the girl replied after a moment of silence before she slowly pulled her attention from him before she occupied herself with rummaging through her satchel for what she needed. "Well, somewhat, but I don't want to keep you waiting."

_As you shouldn't,_ he thought to himself, though he kept this unvoiced.

After rising to her feet and taking a moment to dust herself off, the human took a few minutes to check and see if the coast was clear and Ridley noticed that she would turn towards any sound that happened nearby, cautiously waiting before finally relaxing enough to start on unwrapping the bandages from where she'd set them around the fire.

"I don't mean to be so jumpy," she apologized when she'd approached and set both the bandages and her medicine off to her left.

"Don't apologize," he chided, keeping himself still as she worked. "It's better to be on edge and prepared for a sudden attack than to be lax and caught off-guard."

"This is true. It's helped me to stay alive for this long, anyway," she added before gesturing for him to rise to his feet so she could tend to and bandage the wounds on his side and leg, after which he moved to lie down once again, his head resting on his uninjured arm. The cloth felt warm against his hide, and Ridley found himself closing his eyes in contentment at the combination of this and the girl's gentle treatment.

It was perhaps the only thing he would miss about this forced companionship when he was back at the fleet and once again at the mercy of his less than stellar doctors.

_If they can even be called that,_ he thought tiredly as he began to drift off even though he knew very well that he should remain on alert just in case something decided to come bursting through the treeline, but he just couldn't help himself.

* * *

Katja smiled when she saw the reptile's eyes drift closed. This in tandem with what he'd told her earlier that afternoon made the young woman happy that her treatments were helping him. It was still far too early for her to assume that Ridley trusted her, though, since they hadn't even known one another for a day; so she figured that he'd fallen asleep due to tiredness. That and he tended to keep his distance from her whenever they would interact outside of when she needed to tend to his injuries, and she knew better than to test the boundaries of his personal space.

_I can't say the same of him, though,_ she added with a soft sigh as she remembered what had happened earlier at the river. Ridley had one hell of a temper on him and she was glad that he'd been able to rein it in before he'd confronted her about sparing the merman, or else...

_Or else he probably would've hurt me otherwise,_ she concluded, a shiver crawling down her back at the thought. _Or worse._

Still, she couldn't help but feel bad for him after everything he'd told her about his life up to this point. Sure, he was an ass (for the lack of a better term) and had little to no sense of empathy, but she _couldn't_ just abandon him while he was injured like this! Shoddy personality or not, he was still a sentient being like herself, and to abandon him just because he had poor social skills from a difficult life would be petty and such a thought left her feeling cold.

Frowning, she shook off these thoughts and her earlier smile returned when she saw that the space dragon was asleep. All that was left for her to check was his broken wing, but she decided to wait till he was awake before doing so, since the appendage would still be tender this early in the process of mending and she would rather not jolt him awake. And, so, she quietly grabbed her jar of herbal medicine and the lid before carefully moving back to her spot near the campfire where she set to the task of putting the shrapnel she'd used to dry the bandages with away, having to coat them in a layer of ice to cool them down before she could safely touch them.

_He'll probably be upset that I let him fall asleep,_ she thought with a roll of her eyes as she worked, _but he needs the rest, the stubborn sod._

* * *

Ridley had no idea how much time had passed when he felt himself being shaken and heard a voice calling his name. Confused, the dragon opened his eyes, taking a moment to glance about blearily before his amber gaze focused upon Katja, who was currently knelt next to him before she wisely rose to her feet and backed away to a respectable distance. He blinked groggily at her before the realization suddenly dawned upon him and he jerked awake.

"Shit, did I fall asleep?!"

"Yeah," the magic-user replied gently, "you're still recovering, and rest is a vital part of healing."

He groaned, wishing that she wouldn't be so damn concerned with his well-being to remember that they had bigger problems to deal with. Weak feelings such as kindness never solved anything, after all.

"Look," he replied, forcing himself to sound calm, "I appreciate your concern, but you can't let me sleep. It leaves us too open for attack."

His remark caused the girl's expression to switch from confusion to annoyance within record time.

"Ridley, _please_," she replied, irritation in her voice as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I've avoided other people for two years, so I'm quite certain I can keep a lookout on my own. I did the first time you slept, after all, and nothing happened, did it not?"

The space pirate opened his jaws to snap out a retort, only for the words to die on his tongue as he realized that she _did_ have a point. He lay there for a moment with his jaws hanging open before he closed them and looked away with an annoyed chuff.

An awkward silence fell between them, then, and Ridley rose to his feet and slowly stretched before he checked for signs of danger, only relaxing when he sensed nothing out of the ordinary.

"Nothing's amiss as far as I can tell, so I guess it's fine," he grumbled as he moved to sit down. "Just don't let me drift off like that again, all right?"

"Okay," she replied as she finished tending to her hair. "Are you hungry? It'll be evening in a few hours, so I'm going to go hunting while there's still enough daylight left."

"I am," he replied, arching an eyeridge in a silent question to why she hadn't bothered to groom her hair completely before tending to his wounds, dismissing it as her strange wish to put his health above all else.

"I'll try not to be gone long," she said gently before moving a few steps away from her campfire, and Ridley's eyes widened considerably when the magic-user's form began to shift and change before, where the girl once stood, now sat a medium-sized bird that possessed a sharp beak and talons, a rounded face with a sand-colored ruff about her throat, creamy white on her underside and tawny feathers across her back and wings along with a scattering of black speckles on her flanks. This avian form that Katja had assumed addressed him with large, dark eyes for a moment before she kicked off into the air and flew away from the clearing, her wingbeats completely silent.

_Welp,_ he thought in a mixture of surprise and amusement, _that makes my earlier 'little bird' comment about her totally valid._

He watched her until she disappeared into the middle distance, and he sighed softly when he felt a sense of longing before he glared back at his currently broken wing.

_Be patient,_ that part of his mind he had no appropriate term for admonished. _It will heal in time, especially with her helping._

The space dragon curled his lip in annoyance before he stood up and shook himself lightly. When he looked towards the fire, he saw that the human had left her satchel behind, and the pirate commander glanced about before he sauntered over and opened it, his tail waving behind him in his rising curiosity as he sorted through its contents.

The first thing he found was the stick Katja had used to groom her hair, and he turned it over in his hands, his brow furrowing when he noticed that there were a series of small, dull spikes protruding from one side of it. Shrugging, he put it back before rummaging past what appeared to be a spare change of clothing (he'd never understand why some humanoid species chose to wear such) and what he recognized as the jar of herbal medicine she'd been using to treat his wounds. This he was careful about handling, seeing as the jar was made of thick glass.

He then found what appeared to be a bowl and he blinked as he turned it over a few times before bringing it closer to his muzzle, where he gave an experimental sniff, noticing that it held the same scent as the medicine along with what appeared to be a small club, and he silently guessed that the girl used these to make the concoction somehow. After placing them back into the satchel, his claws brushed against what felt like another wooden stick, and he pulled it out, his brow furrowing in confusion when he sniffed it and learned that its scent didn't match that of the bowl or the small club.

_Why keep something like this even though it's sharpened on one end?_ he thought in confusion as he turned it over a few times. _What could it possibly do? There's no way this could kill anybody!_

He gave a soft snort as he unceremoniously tossed the stick back into the bag before finally finding what he'd been looking for: Katja's books. The first one he put back immediately after catching the word 'herbology' in the title, and he immediately recognized the second book as the bestiary she'd shown him last night, the titleless brown leather cover staring back at him as he settled down to leaf through it. He tilted his head to one side in complete confusion when he saw that neither of the inner pages held a title before shrugging and continuing on. He skipped most entries before pausing to read the entry on dragons, and he stared at the sketch of the quadrupedal beast who practically _towered_ over the armored human who attempted to face it down while armed with what appeared to be rather primitive weapons. The dragon pictured was a different species, but Ridley couldn't help the wave of jealousy that washed over him.

He glanced down at himself, and he sneered at the old wounds that had failed to heal over properly. The dragon pictured in Katja's bestiary, artist's sketch or not, was pictured as healthy and majestic while _he_ appeared to be... half-dead. Growling, he slammed the book shut before shoving it back into the bag and pushing the container away before he crossed his arms and glared into the fire.

_I look like __**this**__ now because of the Hunter,_ he snarled silently, his tail lashing behind him. _One day, I'll kill her off for good so she can't ruin my life any longer._

_The only one who's ruined your life,_ that part of his mind stated, _is __**you**__._

_Bullshit,_ he sneered inwardly, _just because I didn't befriend Aran when she was a little brat doesn't mean my life would've been infinitely better had I done so! Ugh!_

_Then,_ 'Gray Voice' countered, _what makes Katja so different?_

_She's useful,_ he concluded after a moment of thinking. _And once everything's said and done, I won't need to tolerate her presence any longer. Seriously, I'll be happy when I can bid her good riddance, and I'll thank her for her help by making her death swift and painless._

Grumbling to himself, the reptile made sure that her satchel didn't appear to have been tampered with, not wanting to have to deal with Katja questioning him about if he'd been through her belongings or not. He then occupied himself with attempting to stretch his broken wing, knowing that he had to keep the appendage limber the best he could as it healed. Even with the splint holding the break in place, his wing still hurt like hell when he tried to move it, so he decided to wait a while before trying again.

Katja returned a couple of hours later with two more of those long-eared mammals and a few plump birds that had rather noticeable tailfeathers, which appeared to be ringed by dark bands and rather sharp-looking. While she gave him most of her catch, she kept the smallest of these birds for herself, which he made no objection to, knowing that she needed to keep herself healthy if she were to continue being of any use to him. He noticed that she'd also kept these prominent tailfeathers after plucking them from the corpses, and he silently wondered why she would have need of them.

Of course, it took her a while to prepare her own meal, since humans had this strange need to cook their food for some reason. Why they would want to get rid of the blood (which was one of the best parts) was beyond him. What surprised him, however, is that the girl only set aside a portion of her catch for herself to cook before offering the rest to Ridley, which he accepted.

* * *

After their meal, Katja returned to the river to fetch some water, both for Ridley and for herself, before she used a small piece of shrapnel to cut two strips of cloth from the trailing edge of her cloak. She sighed inwardly, wishing she'd had the foresight to have had more bandages on her person, but she'd traveled alone for so long that she'd become used to only needing to care for herself.

"What're you doing?" the reptile asked, but she didn't look at him until after she'd finished.

"Making a few more bandages for you," she informed as she wrapped the cloth around her right hand before she returned to her spot at the fire to gather the rest of what she needed. "For your wing. I want to change the current splint and bandage, so I'll need you to keep your wing as steady as you can."

"Very well," he replied, shifting himself into a better position so she could reach his broken wing easier. "Just be careful. I'd rather not be grounded for the rest of my life."

"Hey," she admonished, her voice gentle though she'd noticed a teasing edge to his tone. "Just because I'm not really a doctor doesn't mean I'm _that_ bad at healing others."

"You're better than _some_ people I know," he grumbled, his voice sounding close to her left ear as she applied the last of her herbal medicine to the site of the break to reduce pain before replacing the crude splint she'd used the previous night with a stronger one she'd worked on carving the first time he'd been asleep. Katja could feel his warm breath puffing against the side of her neck, knowing very well that he could easily end her life if he so chose and she kept this thought in mind as she carefully worked, using the new impromptu bandages to support the splint along the area and making certain everything was set securely before she reached out and gently patted his shoulder.

"Thank you," she replied warmly, a soft smile forming upon her lips for a few seconds before the gravity of his words hit her and she frowned at him. "I'm sorry to hear that you've had some bad doctors in the past."

His only response was to shrug before the young woman was forced to duck quickly to avoid getting knocked off her feet when Ridley began to slowly extend his wings, testing the new splint before he once again folded them against his back and gave a single nod of approval.

"You're welcome," she said quietly, only to pause when she noticed something about the space dragon she'd missed during prior treatment sessions, given how most of them had been during the night while the last had been during early dawn. Now that she'd finally had the chance to observe Ridley during the daytime, she noticed how parts of his dark purple hide were marked by what must have been some rather nasty-looking scars, including around the underside of his eyes.

She kept herself still when Ridley narrowed his eyes at her, an eyeridge arching in a silent demand to know why she was currently staring at him. It was enough that she was still in his personal space, but she remained composed as she slowly backed away from him, hazel eyes still locked to those of glowing amber.

"Do they still hurt?" she asked, raising a hand to point to her own face. The space dragon continued to glare at her with narrowed eyes before they widened for a fleeting second, genuine surprise flashing within their luminescent depths until he exhaled deeply through his nostrils and shook his head.

"No," he replied quietly as he looked away. "Not anymore."

"I'm glad, but I'm sorry they didn't heal well."

"_Don't_," he snapped in warning, sharply meeting her gaze again as he rose to his feet, his eyes narrowed once again. "It's not your concern."

"Yes it _is_," she countered, her voice hardening in exasperation at how rude he was being currently. "They may be scars, but-"

"I _**said**_ it's not your concern!" he snarled, his tail lashing as he suddenly surged forward, his muzzletip mere inches from her face as he glared into her eyes, his hot breath puffing against her face with each word that followed: "You may be my current doctor, but you are _sorely_ trying my patience right now, and those who do _always_ end up regretting such a stupid decision. So. Drop. It."

Katja forced herself to remain calm, keeping her eyes locked to his as she slowly stepped back to put a bit of distance between herself and Ridley before she spoke again, choosing her words carefully as she kept her tone steady:

"All right, I will, but you need to realize that I'm not trying to force you to trust me. I worry about you because I want to help you."

_Not everyone's out to hurt you, Ridley,_ she added silently as she turned her back to him before she began to remove her chestpiece and moved to set it down, not caring that she was risking her health to the cold mid-autumn air with what she was about to do. _I'm just sorry you don't seem to realize that..._

* * *

The dragon remained silent as he watched the human basically render herself vulnerable to a sudden strike from him if he chose to do so, and his brow furrowed in complete confusion when she removed her armor and shirt before Katja pulled her brownish-blond hair over one shoulder to further expose her back to him. The space dragon swept his gaze over the slender human, noting that life had _not_ been kind to her since she'd been out on her own.

Many scars laced over her back, most of them old, and there were places on her back, arms and on her lower right side that were severely discolored in comparison to the rest of her pale complexion and Ridley recognized these as burn scars, either from self-cauterization or from a different source, he was unsure.

He knew that, if not for her magic, Katja would've been killed long ago and, perhaps, it was why she possessed a sense of fearlessness that most other humans seemed to lack. Anyone else wouldn't have been so bold as to turn their back to someone who could so easily kill them on a whim if they couldn't readily defend themselves, after all.

Except for Katja... and Samus Aran.

_Fearless like the Hunter,_ he realized, _but I have no reason to hate her... __**yet**__._

"I've seen enough," he growled finally, feeling unsettled by her impudence. "I don't see how comparing scars proves anything other than the fact that you wouldn't have survived for long out on your own without your magic for protection."

"That's not what I'm trying to prove," the female human replied, exasperation still apparent within her voice as she redressed herself and stooped down to retrieve her chestpiece before donning it and finally turning to face him again. "I wanted you to know that I _understand_ what it's like to have scars, so that I can help you with yours if you ever need it. You probably won't believe me, but scar tissue _can_ become infected. It's rare, but it can and will happen."

He glared at her silently for a few long minutes before he snorted and looked away, a raspy "Fine" leaving him as his tail lashed a few times in aggravation. The two fell into an uncomfortable silence, neither wanting to look at the other until he heard her sigh softly.

"Listen, I'm sorry for not backing down after hitting that sore spot with you," Katja said softly, and he slowly turned his head to look at her. "But it frustrates me when someone who needs help refuses to acknowledge this."

She took a step back when he growled deeply, but she kept his gaze as she did so before she slowly raised her hands in a placating gesture, her open palms facing towards him.

"Still, I know you have your reasons, and I want you to know that I asked because I care about your well-being even though we barely know each other. Believe me, I feel terrible for not listening to you like I should have," she continued, and he blinked when he heard that tone of sadness he'd heard within her voice earlier that day. Yes, she was fearless - just like the Hunter - but Katja knew when to back off and give him ground, which was something he appreciated. "I'm sorry for upsetting you like that, Ridley, I really am and I promise that I won't pry if I ever strike a chord with you like that again."

_It would be best to give her the benefit of the doubt this time,_ 'Gray Voice' prompted, _she didn't know and if you wish to keep her allegiance, __**you'll **__need to give __**her**__ ground as well._

_Tch! Fine,_ Ridley growled inwardly, even though he knew that annoying voice in his mind _did_ have a point.

Wordlessly, he approached her, stopping when he was a few feet away before he inclined his head forward to nudge her shoulder, keeping his strength in check so he wouldn't accidentally send her sprawling to the ground. It was the closest to openly showing forgiveness she would receive from him and he fought to keep himself from showing surprise when she reached up with a hand to softly touch the bridge of his muzzle, silently indicating that she'd accepted his gesture. The contact lasted for a brief moment before she pulled her hand away as she smiled warmly at him, and he silently thanked her for not having the gall to pet him as if he were nothing more than some subservient animal that would happily wag its tail for something so paltry as physical contact.

What surprised him even _more_, however, was that he _hadn't_ felt as much revulsion at her touch this time around as he had the other times there had been such contact between them. Shit, what the hell was wrong with him?! Was he truly so lonely that he was beginning to _allow_ himself to tolerate physical contact with a human girl he'd only just met?! With a soft chuff, Ridley pulled back and gave his head a hard shake in order to rid himself of these strange feelings, the last foot of his tail twitching quickly in a silent show of embarrassment at his own behavior as he kept his attention fastened to the ground in front of him.

No, he definitely was _not_ used to being treated like a person, nor was he used to acknowledging someone as an equal (or close enough to it) for once and, worse yet, it was the first time in his entire life (as far back as he could remember, anyway) he'd _ever_ forgiven anyone for _anything_.

It was... unsettling... to say the least.

"Are you okay?"

Ridley held back a sigh, knowing that to say yes would be a straight-up lie and he knew she could tell that he'd been rattled by their argument. In truth, however, his current agitation had been caused by her willingness to give him ground _on her own terms_ rather than him forcing her to comply.

"Hey," her soft voice was accompanied by a light touch on his shoulder, and he merely slid his gaze to focus on her when she spoke again: "I'm not mad at you."

"I know," he said quietly, his voice thick and sounding alien to his own ears. "I need time alone for a little while."

"Okay," she replied gently, giving his shoulder a gentle pat before she moved to step past him, and he watched her gather up the old bandages, splint and her medicine jar before she moved back to her spot by the campfire and set to putting everything back into her bag.

"I'm going to go wash these bandages down at the river," she informed, "and I'll need to gather the herbs required to make more of my medicine, I used the last of it on your wing and I don't want to be out when it wears off again. It'll be dark soon, so I promise I'll try not to be gone for too long."

"Very well." _And it will hopefully give me time to sort myself out after... that..._

_Are you really so stubborn that she needed to prove a point to you?_ that part of his mind asked as the space pirate watched the girl sling her satchel strap over her shoulder before she fed more kindling to the campfire. Katja rose to her feet and stopped to retrieve her cloak from where she'd left it to dry hours earlier before donning the garment and finally moving towards the treeline, where she disappeared into the forest.

_No,_ he replied silently as he moved to the campfire, pausing to add a few more sticks of kindling before he laid down close to it for warmth and gazed impassively into the flames. _I just don't want to - I __**can't**__ \- believe that her goodwill is genuine... because a human has no reason to show such to a monster._

* * *

The sun was setting when the wolf decided that now would be a good time to pay a visit to the dragon from beyond the sky. A visit with the witch, however, could wait, since he knew that _her_ reaction to his presence would be less than welcoming and, so, he was grateful for her choice to leave her draconic companion alone for the time being when he'd requested so.

Silently, the pale-furred lupine moved forward, pausing for a few moments near the edge of the clearing before he emerged from the trees and, with each step, his form began to shift and change until a tall man clad in black trimmed with harvest gold was now where the large lupine had been.

He paused, waiting, and his suspicion was confirmed when the dragon suddenly rose to his feet, turned, and lashed out with his barbed tail at lightning speed. The man's expression remained neutral as he drew his blade and blocked the strike, golden eyes staring into those of glowing amber as the lanky dragon stared at him in a combination of surprise and confusion.

"Ridley, I presume?"

* * *

_What the everliving fuck just happened?!_

Ridley remained stone still, his tail blade still locked against the cold metal of the sword that the tall blond... man? Woman? had used to outright _block_ his strike. What shocked him even more was that _this_ human had _barely even been moved by the attack_, whereas he was used to them being sent sprawling into the dirt!

_And __**what**__ is __**with**__ the humans of this world needing to conceal their genders?! It's __**extremely**__ annoying!_

"... Who's asking?!" he snarled after finally recollecting himself and he slowly (though reluctantly) withdrew his tail from their deadlock, the human following suit as they lowered their blade, though they made no move to sheathe it.

"I know your name because _she_ has spoken it," the man (again, he was going to assume so for now) replied, his low voice _not_ befitting of his rather... feminine... appearance. Something else about this person was _off_, and it was something Ridley couldn't place, but it made a shiver crawl down his spine all the same.

_He's been spying on us,_ he realized, _but why couldn't I ever detect his presence?!_

"... You know Katja?" the space pirate asked, his tone holding a wariness that he was unused to hearing coming from his own jaws. "How? Who the hell are you to come asking about her?"

"_That_ information is for her ears_ only_," the man replied, his perpetually calm tone making Ridley yearn to once again attempt to run him through, but he forced himself to refrain as the man continued: "But I assure you that I am not her enemy... nor am I _yours_, unless you try skewering me again."

"Then, _what_ do you _want_?"

"To speak with you," the tall blond replied and Ridley saw a red flag raise within his mind's eye. "Ridley, your presence here within Wallachia may be unexpected, but I am thankful that Katja was the one who found you."

"Aaand _that's_ supposed to mean _what_ exactly?"

"As you have seen, she is no ordinary young woman," he replied, the barest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, which caused Ridley to arch an eyeridge at this minor show of emotion. "She is not invincible - and neither are _you_. There are dark forces about, so it would be within your best interest to remain by her side."

"Do you enjoy messing with people just to piss them off?" the pirate commander snapped, his tail lashing in his rising agitation. "Stop talking in circles, Pretty Boy, or-"

"Or you'll make me?" the man asked, a pale brow arching in amusement. "_Please_. You saw how I effortlessly stopped your strike, so it would be within your best interest _not_ to pick a fight with me, _especially_ while in your wounded state. Trust me, Ridley, you'll learn everything in time. And one more thing: do _not_ make _any_ mention of me to Katja. I am not yet ready to reveal my presence to her. There's much I have left to do before that time comes, but I assure you that you will see me again when the time is right."

"... Right. Fine, I won't tell her about you. Heh, I doubt she'd believe me even if I did."

"Being native to this land, she and I have seen things far beyond your comprehension," the man stated as he moved to sheathe his blade before he turned his back to the space dragon, his long hair swishing gently with the movement. "You would do well to remember this."

And, with that, the man's form began to change and shrink, before where he once stood sat a fuzzy creature with leathery wings that Ridley had never seen before.

"... I think the medicine is beginning to wear off," the space dragon muttered as he watched the small creature fly off until it faded into the evening sky before he raised a hand to rub his temples, not wanting to believe that the conversation he'd just had with that rather _feminine-looking_ man had been _real_. "That or being stuck on this planet really _is_ beginning to drive me crazy."


	6. Cracks in the Stone

_**Author's Note: **__Yet another chapter that didn't want to be written, as well as me being struck by a wave of depression and insomnia that keeps on persisting about staying. Still, I managed to finish, and things will finally begin to kick off now that Samus and her allies have arrived, though it will be a little while yet before the inevitable conflict between both parties involved._

_I also want to point out that Mario and Luigi will __**not **__have their accents, I can't write accents for beans and due to being an old fart who grew up with the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, I tend to hear Captain Lou Albano and Danny Wells over Charles Martinet whenever I think of the plumber duo, sorry, please don't kill me!_

_Special thanks go out to my beta-readers, Ayaluki and CatSnievans, you guys are the best!_

_**Disclaimer: **__As always, the Metroid franchise, the Super Mario Bros. franchise, the Pokémon franchise, the Super Smash Bros. franchise and all their respective characters are © Nintendo while the Castlevania franchise, its settings and characters are © Konami. My original character, Katja, belongs to me._

* * *

_**Summary:**_ _After his latest battle with his nemesis, Ridley crashlands in Wallachia, where he finds himself befriended to one of the local residents. __Little does he realize the impact such a meeting will have on his life._

_**Warnings**_**: **Very AU, redemption fic, violence, language, OC, headcanon, eventual Ridley x OC (yep, I'm goin' there.)

* * *

_**Arc 1:**_  
_**The Search For Simon**_

_**Chapter 6:  
**__**Cracks in the Stone**_

* * *

Three days came and went for the duo with little problems since Ridley's talk with the strange man, and the space dragon's injuries were healing well. By the fourth day, the smaller injuries upon his form had healed completely and the wounds on his arm and leg had healed over to the point where they no longer needed Katja's makeshift bandages, so only his side and wing still needed the extra care. Though it would take a while longer for his wing to mend completely, and though there was still some discomfort, the space dragon was able to stretch and move the appendage without being wracked by severe pain.

He was now limping far less and even though he was still flightless, he felt strong enough to go hunting for himself and had immediately set out in search of more substantial fare than Katja could provide for him. During the past few days, Katja had taught him the names of the creatures that lived within the forest, and after a couple hours of searching, he came across a small group of what he now knew were called deer. He'd swiftly killed and made short work of three of them before catching a rabbit and a couple of pheasants for Katja on his way back to the clearing as compensation for the food he'd taken from her while he'd been too weak to hunt for himself - and in order to keep up his façade of being someone she could trust. He also continued this intricate deception through his tales of exploring the many different worlds he would come across, which Katja always listened to with a look of complete awe. Of course, he was forced to edit his accounts (sometimes heavily) in order to continue keeping his true reputation a well-guarded secret from the girl, and while he found this to be annoying, he constantly reminded himself that this temporary allegiance would be well worth it in the end.

Deep down, whether he liked to admit it or not, the space pirate commander was grateful to finally have some intelligent conversation for once, which was a welcome change of pace after having been surrounded by people who respected him through fear and tended to keep a safe distance from him at all times.

During the time they'd been living together, Ridley had made certain to watch and analyze Katja to the point where he felt that he now knew and better understood her personality and habits. He found her to be kind, steadfast and honest, traits that had continued to manifest themselves through her words and actions since the night they'd first met. He figured such traits came not only with youth and inexperience, but from the girl's desire for companionship after having lived out on her own for quite some time. As for what unnerved the magic-user, the only subjects that irritated or rattled her were the mention of Carmilla or the threat of capture and persecution, and Ridley made sure to avoid these topics for the most part, only bringing one up whenever he felt like rousing her a little.

In regards to her habits, the draconic beast noticed that, when she woke at the start of her turn to keep vigil and when she changed off with him in order to sleep, she would pause to check their surroundings for signs of approach and would only either rest or go about her business once she felt that the coast was clear. Another habit the female human had is that she would skin most of the rabbits and other small mammals either of them would catch while out hunting and clean the furs. When he'd asked, she explained that certain people paid good money for the furs of certain mammals as well as for the feathers of some game birds, which was why she went out of her way to save both for whenever she would need to stop briefly at a town or village during her travels for either money, supplies or both. And lastly, once she'd finished tending to Ridley and maintaining their tiny campsite, Katja would move off to the opposite side of the large clearing to practice her magic in order to keep both Ridley and their campsite safe in case a spell were to go wrong.

Though some of her more powerful spells (such as the wave she'd raised, frozen and shattered back at the river days ago) made him antsy, Ridley was always certain to watch her in order to better analyze her fighting style in preparation for the day he would no longer have any use for her. As Katja'd explained to him the first full day they'd known one another, she'd practically achieved mastery over fire, ice and water magic while she still had a way to go in regards to her wind and earth magic. Between the two, earth magic tended to give her the most trouble due to its steady and unyielding nature as an element, and so, she tended to rely upon the more responsive elements whenever she needed quick results.

From what he'd seen, she was capable of conjuring both fire and ice from nothing, and she was further able to change ice to water and back again with relative ease. When it came to her wind magic, he realized _that_ was how she'd been able to move the two cyclops bodies (as well as, he realized with unease, _himself_) while he'd been unconscious the night he'd first met her.

These magical abilities of hers, he surmised, were indeed something to behold, and he could see why most people would be terrified of Katja if they ever learned what she was capable of... and why this Carmilla wished to see her dead. Still, it bothered him that Katja's gentleness and goodwill towards him _hadn't_ diminished over time as he thought they would and, the longer this went on, the more this made him feel uneasy. He knew that it would be easier if she wasn't so trusting, since one had no way of telling if someone would suddenly turn around to use you if you didn't use them first, after all. This logic, however, didn't seem to apply to Katja and he was unsure _why_.

That is, until the night terror happened on the morning of the fifth day, while Ridley had been sleeping.

* * *

_The blinding white lights glared down at his prone form and, barely clinging to life, the space dragon could only just register the cold touch of metal underneath him, along with the bindings that held his limbs and tail still. Suddenly, he felt the bite of white-hot pain as metal was driven into hard scales and the delicate flesh that lay underneath, this pain enough to make tears stream from his eyes as he screamed, the sound echoing off the nearby walls._

_"Stop..." he gasped, his voice barely working as he met the cold stares of the surgeons. "Why do this...? I don't need..."_

_"It is because you are valuable," came a metallic voice that he recognized instantly, the nearby monitor humming to life to reveal the visage of Mother Brain, her single eye staring deeply into his own amber ones, though he could barely make out her form onscreen through the film of tears that had been brought on by the excruciating pain that barely seemed to subside. "Because you __**need**__ to become better, faster, __**stronger**__."_

_"Mother, you're mistaken," he forced his reply through the pain past vocal cords that barely wished to work, "I __**don't**__ need this... I'm already... perfect..."_

_"__**You are not. **__A __**perfect **__being would __**not**__ be barely clinging to life, Ridley," the AI stated, and the space pirate commander felt an unsettling chill fall over him at her words: "A __**perfect**__ being would __**not**__ need to be __**altered**__. Continue."_

_"As you will, Mother," the surgeons replied, saluting as the monitor blinked off, leaving Ridley to his fate._

_"No... don't... STOP...!"_

_More unbearable pain as more pieces of hot metal were forced to merge with tough hide and tender flesh, and his screams sounded far away, as if he were watching this torture from somewhere nearby rather than feeling it first hand, until a fresh wave of pain jolted him back into his broken form._

_On the verge of panic, he forced himself to shift his gaze about the room, searching for a means of escape before movement upon the edge of his vision caught his attention. This movement came from beyond the static actions of the surgeons, and Ridley felt a surge of hope when he saw Katja standing upon the catwalk at the back of the room, staring down at the floor._

_Katja... his __**friend**__!_

_He yearned to reach for her, but he was too weak to move, knowing that he would be unable to break the binds that held him fast to the operating table. Still, he knew he __**needed**__ to get her attention, for she would easily be able to help free him with her magic._

_"Katja!" he called to her, his voice hoarse and wracked with pain. "Katja, help me!"_

_The human girl slowly looked over at him, and if he'd been able to move, he would've flinched, for this... this __**wasn't**__ the the Katja he knew. She was something different, and this change startled and unnerved him. While she was physically the same person, it was her eyes that were different: rather than holding the kind warmth he'd been growing used to, their hazel depths were cold and hard, the whites reddened and irritated as if she'd been awake for days upon end... or crying._

_It was as if someone had drained all of that trust and kindness from her and left a cold, bitter husk of her former self. To see that she'd undergone such a drastic change frightened him to no end._

_"Katja..." he rasped, "what __**happened **__to you...?"_

_"__**You**__," she hissed, her tone chilling him to the bone, as if she'd suddenly struck him with one of her ice-based spells. "You're no better than Carmilla. You __**lied **__to me. You __**hurt**__ me. __**I hate you.**__"_

_"Wait! I-I..." he trailed off when he saw another familiar form materialize to Katja's immediate left, towering a good foot or so over the girl, and Ridley was barely able to voice a snarl of hatred as he recognized this new form as that of Samus Aran._

_"__**You**__...! Get __**away**__ from her...!"_

_"Why?" the older female human sneered, glaring down at him, her blue-green eyes filled with hatred. "I told her __**everything**__ you kept hidden from her so you could weave your web of deception. I __**saved**__ her."_

_"You don't __**care**__," came a new voice, this time low, guttural and masculine, and Ridley's eyes widened when he saw the ghost of Kraid materialize to the right of the two humans, his tri-eyed gaze narrowed in contempt. "You __**never**__ cared for __**anyone**__ but __**yourself**__."_

_"You should have told her the truth," said Gray Voice as his ghost materialized to the left of Samus, the chozo's gaze holding pity. "But, instead, you __**chose**__ to __**create**__ yet __**another**__ enemy."_

_"I... I __**couldn't**__ tell her!"_

_"Indeed you couldn't," Gray Voice agreed, "because you're a __**coward**__ who only wishes to preserve __**himself**__ in the end."_

_And with that, the spectres of the avian humanoid and the giant reptile faded from sight before the forms of Katja and Samus turned their backs to the bound dragon, the older human placing a steady hand upon the younger girl's back as they, too, faded from his sight, leaving Ridley to his fate._

_"No... __**NO**__!"_

* * *

Nearby, Katja jerked in a mixture of fear and surprise when Ridley suddenly bellowed in his sleep, the cry wracked in both pain and panic as the big dragon thrashed about, his eyes still tightly shut, indicating that he was in the midst of a particularly horrible nightmare.

"Ridley, what's wrong?!" she cried, jumping to her feet when worry for him overrode her fear when she realized that he was in danger of jarring his wing or, worse, rebreaking it. "Stop, you'll hurt yourself!"

She ran to his side, managing to dodge his wildly flailing limbs as he fought to free himself from imaginary bonds that held him fast. As she drew close, however, she froze when Ridley's eyes suddenly snapped open, their luminescent amber depths glazed over as they fixed solely upon her, a low snarl leaving him.

She cried out when, faster than she could follow, he leapt at her, and she felt the air forced from her lungs as she fell hard onto her back, the lanky space dragon looming over her as he pinned her against the ground with a large hand against her chest, his eyes burning into hers as he lowered his head to her, bared his teeth and growled deeply. While she knew Ridley as a predator, she'd _always_ seen him firstly as a sentient being and, in spite of how rude and stubborn he could be, as a kindred spirit. While he'd been harsh with her back at the river and when she'd struck a chord with him over his scars, those reactions _paled_ in comparison to his current behavior, where he was controlled by his baser instincts.

The comparison made her blood run cold and she shuddered, feeling something wet crawling down her face. Wait, when did she start crying?

_No, he's still in there,_ she reminded herself, forcing her fear back,_ he's trapped in that nightmare. I need to do anything I can to help him._

"Ridley..." she managed to gasp out, wishing that he didn't have her arms pinned so she could reach out to touch him. "It's me... Katja..."

He snarled again, his nostrils flaring... before he paused, his eyes widening as he caught her scent.

"Ridley," the magic-user tried again, forcing herself to keep talking in hopes that she had a chance to reach him. "It's okay now, it's me, Katja, remember? I've been taking care of you since your ship crashed. It's me, your... your _friend_."

"Friend...?" he growled, his voice nothing but a guttural rasp before his eyes seemed to clear, the last of the night terror freeing him as he returned to his senses. "Katja...? What happened...?"

* * *

He blinked, confused, before he focused on her and saw what he was doing, and he quickly released her and backed away. He heard Katja gasp for breath as she remained there lying on her back, a hand pressed firmly against her chest as she gave vent to a pained groan. He approached after a few minutes of hesitation, only for the girl to shudder and recoil when he tried to help her sit up. Her current behavior was worrying to him, for in the brief time he'd known her, she'd _never_ flinched away from him like this before.

_I... must've really jarred her this time._

_You're lucky you didn't inadvertently __**kill**__ her,_ 'Gray Voice' snapped in his mind, but Ridley paid no heed to the voice as he tried to focus on what was currently happening.

"Katja, I-I didn't..." Ridley muttered, freezing when she raised her free hand towards him, nervous that she was about to cast a spell in self-defense. The space dragon relaxed slightly when he saw no hints of magic, but when he studied her more closely, he felt a coldness fall over him as if she'd struck him with one of her ice-based spells.

There was stone between them again when she looked up, the pained tears in her eyes accompanied by _fear_ silently telling him all he needed to know, and Ridley felt himself shiver as he remembered what had followed in regards to her behavior - _**no**_.

No! He shook himself, the metaphorical wall of stone disappearing when he made eye contact with her again. _It **wasn't** the night terror._ Katja was still staring at him warily, but her eyes still held the concern he'd come to know from her. So, no, not the night terror. This was _reality_ and Katja was herself! She may have been scared due to what had just transpired, but she was still the same person he now knew.

As much as he tried to force himself, he found that he couldn't speak. Instead, he felt some unknown instinct slowly stir deep within, coaxing Ridley to lower himself closer to the girl's level before he crooned softly at her, trying to reassure her as a parent would reassure its offspring even though he himself was still rattled beyond belief.

He saw her draw a deep breath as she tried to recollect herself, and he heard himself croon softly a second time when he saw her face contort in pain.

"I'm okay," she assured, addressing them both even though he heard her voice trembling with every word, "nothing's broken, I promise."

"Katja," he tried again, his voice barely wanting to work, "I... I'm..."

* * *

"It's not your fault," she replied simply, quickly wiping her face with her sleeves before she looked at him again. Her fear was forgotten when she caught sight of him, and it shocked her to see how utterly _pitiful_ he looked currently. He'd always been so stubborn, proud and unshakable, and the stark difference was _unsettling_. He was shaking from how badly he'd been jarred from his nightmare, his head held low and his wings and tail drooping to the point where they were laying limply on the ground as he avoided her gaze. Aside from how badly he'd reacted to when she'd struck a chord with him before, albeit through anger instead of through self-shame, Katja was reminded that, for as unflappable as he seemed to be, Ridley _could_ still be hurt emotionally, like herself and anyone else.

If anything, Katja should've remained wary and afraid of him lashing out at her again, but she remembered - she _knew_ \- that, despite his outward appearance and predatory nature, he was _still_ sentient _and_ capable of being hurt. Looking at him then, seeing him so upset and shaken, she felt her heart go out to him. What he needed right now was reassurance and, more importantly...

What he needed, even if he could never admit it himself, was a friend.

And so, without giving herself any more time to think it through, Katja sidled closer and threw her arms around the space dragon's bony shoulders, hugging him tightly as she moved to rest her head against him.

* * *

Ridley gasped, both his mind and body freezing as everything came screeching to a halt in light of the girl's boldest action towards him yet.

"You scared me," she whispered, shuddering, "you weren't _yourself_."

"Katja, I don't-"

"I'm sorry you had that horrible experience," she continued, pausing to take a deep breath before she pulled back to look into his eyes, her own filled with a mixture of concern and reassurance as she spoke again: "As vivid as it may have seemed, it was _nothing_ more than a dream, all right? You're here with me now, you're _safe_, and I promise you that I won't abandon you."

A part of Ridley that he usually listened to demanded that he shove her away and stop acting so weak, that it was utterly _pathetic_ that he'd fallen so low to the point where_ a human girl_ was trying to _comfort_ him and that he _didn't_ need her sympathy - her _pity_! He was _Ridley_, damn it! He was the most feared being in the galaxy! He was the Cunning God of Death!

And yet... and yet he could still see the glaring white lights of the operating room, still feel the white-hot metal being forcefully grafted to his still-living body... and he could still hear the voice of Mother Brain telling him that these painful changes were _warranted_... that...

That he _wasn't _perfect.

But... he felt Katja's arms around him: warm, gentle and _real_. In that moment, Ridley realized that, for once in his life, he _wasn't_ being used for the personal gain of another in spite of being allowed to do what he pleased. As he looked into Katja's eyes, he saw nothing but her desire to help him recover from the pain, nothing more. There were no hidden motives or agendas, just her desire to be there for him when he needed it...

_... Like now._

It was a feeling that was downright strange and alien to him but, without realizing what he was doing, the space dragon shivered before he wrapped his arms firmly around the slender girl and pulled her as close to himself as he could before resting his head against her back, not caring that her long hair was tickling against his face as he shut his eyes tightly and took a deep breath, allowing her scent to calm and reassure him. He felt Katja return the gesture as her arms once again slid around his shoulders, and she would whisper gentle reassurances whenever he would begin to tremble again.

Eventually, his emotional exhaustion caught up to him, and Ridley fell into a deep dreamless sleep, leaving the human trapped in his hold, unable to move. When he woke later that afternoon, he found that she had stayed with him, just in case he were to slip back into that or into a different nightmare altogether.

The experience had left him rather unsettled well into the night to the point where he began to feel a tight feeling within his chest, as if it had been clamped in a vice. More importantly, this tight feeling within his chest would _worsen_ whenever Katja would give him that warm, trusting look and while this change was slight, it hadn't escaped his notice, and it would turn out to be the first change of many to come.

For little did he realize that part of this pain was the result of cracks forming within his stone heart.

One thing that constantly bothered him in regards to the night terror was a certain word Katja had said to him, which had, oddly, been the catalyst that had allowed him to regain his senses.

A little word known as 'friend'.

Shit, she couldn't see him this way... could she? Even with how he tried to keep her at arm's length?! It bothered him to the point where, two days after his night terror, he decided to finally find out for himself if this assumption was true or not.

"I'm curious," he said that evening while they'd been idly chatting after a meal of venison, "did you travel with anyone before you met me?"

"Yeah," she replied softly, "I did shortly after I ran away when... when Holly was persecuted and killed. There were three people and a dog, and I'd tried to be careful about using my magic around them out of fear that they would tell someone and have me killed, but they _understood_."

"Where are they now if they'd accepted you, Katja?" he asked, curious about why she was alone. He saw sadness flash across her hazel eyes for a moment and assumed the worst, but he held back said assumption until he gained an explanation from her.

"We traveled together in Moldavia for a couple of weeks, but..." she trailed off, her hands clenching in her lap as she fell silent, and her voice was soft when she continued: "I was always terrified of accidentally hurting them with my magic or that they would end up persecuted and killed for aiding me, so I had no choice but to part ways with them. They're not from around here, so I hope they're doing well."

Ridley frowned, her words making him think back to his time on Zebes with Kraid for some strange reason he couldn't really fathom. While the hulking brute had been nice enough to him, Kraid never really could hold his end of an intelligent conversation even though Ridley was the only one who could understand his guttural roars and, thus, acted as an interpreter for the big reptile when he needed to talk to their fellow Space Pirates.

_I suppose he was the closest thing I had to a friend before,_ Ridley thought, feeling the metaphorical vice squeezing his chest, though he chose to dismiss it._ Though I never really thought of it that way until now..._

He hadn't seen nor heard anything of Kraid since Zebes, and Ridley had known that nobody would care to tell him what had become of the giant reptile since it had been obvious, given how Ridley had barely escaped with his own life.

Deep down, he knew that Kraid was dead, but the life Ridley led didn't allow him to show _any_ weakness, he couldn't afford to or risk losing the position of power he'd worked so hard to achieve, so he had moved on and chosen to forget even though...

Even though, it had _never_ felt like the correct thing to do.

The space dragon chuffed softly, forcing the memories of his deceased comrade to the back of his mind where they belonged. He blinked when he felt a light touch against his arm, and he glanced down to see Katja looking up at him, a frown of worry creasing her features.

"Were you thinking of someone?"

"I was," Ridley replied, his voice sounding wrong to his own ears, and he cleared his throat to fix it. "An... old friend I haven't seen in years who fell in with the Space Pirates around the same time I did. I'd... rather not talk about it, at least not right now."

"I understand," the human soothed, her gaze softening when he met her eyes, and the tight feeling in his chest grew worse until it reached the point where Ridley had to look away as he took a long, deep breath.

"... Thank you," he rumbled, moving to lay his head down on his folded arms before he sighed. "Maybe I'll tell you about him when I feel comfortable enough to remember him again."

"I would like that, thank you," she replied softly, gently patting him on the arm before she pulled her hand away. "And I'll be happy to tell you more about my friends as well."

The dragon grunted in acknowledgement, not feeling comfortable with returning such a sentiment. Damn it, was he actually starting to _trust_ this human to the point where he was _willing_ to share such personal information about himself?! Shit! No, it was because he could finally admit that he missed Kraid, _not_ because he was beginning to see Katja as... as a friend! That's all it was!

... Wasn't it?

"Katja," he said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the two of them, though he didn't feel comfortable enough to look at her yet. "What you told me that morning before... did you mean it when you said that..."

He swallowed thickly after trailing off, somehow managing to remain calm as he forced himself to utter the question:

"When you said that... you were my friend?"

"I did," she replied gently, smiling warmly when he shifted his gaze to her. "And I apologize if it was too bold a statement to make, since we haven't known each other for very long. I didn't want to assume-"

"No it's... it's fine," he interjected quickly, "Really, it's fine. I'm just... not used to someone so readily using _that_ term to refer to me, that's all."

"I understand," the human replied softly before she sighed and moved to push her brownish-blond hair behind her shoulders, the beads clinking softly from the movement. "And I promise I won't hold it against you if you don't feel the same about me."

"Why wouldn't I?" Ridley asked before he realized he'd even spoken, and the space pirate raised his head before focusing his attention upon her. "It's just difficult for me to believe that, well... Just _look_ at me."

"I am," she replied, and he saw her gaze harden, her tone darkening when she spoke again, "to be honest, I don't understand why people refuse to take time to see what lies beneath someone's exterior. Sure, someone may _look_ like a baneful monster, but that doesn't always mean they _are_."

Ridley's eyes widened considerably at the terrifying familiarity of her words, a cold shiver crawling down his back when a rather unpleasant memory came bubbling to the surface:

_**"Even if you look different... You're not scary... We can still be friends!"**_

_No... NO! _He bared his teeth as he clutched at his head, his eyes squeezed tightly shut._ Leave me alone, leave me alone, LEAVE ME ALONE!_

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice soft and holding a tone of worry.

"Y-yeah," he muttered before he gave his head a hard shake, chasing the memory back to where it belonged in the darkest reaches of his mind. "Just a bad memory."

"I'm sorry," she replied quietly, her gaze softening when he looked at her again.

"Don't be," he chided, "you're not the cause." _But your words __**did**__ hit rather close to home..._

"I feel bad for bringing it up," she admitted, "and I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"You didn't," he replied, feeling his chest tighten at the white lie and he took a breath to steel himself before he rose to his feet and moved closer to where she was sat by the campfire. He leant down to gently nudge her shoulder, keeping the contact brief before he pulled back. "And, yes, I see you as a friend as well."

"Thank you, Ridley," the human replied, and he barely kept himself from wincing when he saw her practically _beaming_ up at him as she reached out to touch the bridge of his muzzle for a few seconds before pulling her hand away. "That means a lot to me."

After that conversation, more changes began taking place, the first being that he had _meant it_ when he'd said that he saw her as a friend. The vice-grip feeling in his chest would also grow worse to the point where he had difficulty breathing whenever he found himself having to lie to her, and thus, he would change the subject in order to keep from doing so as well as, more importantly, to alleviate the pain. It was, perhaps, also the reason why he found himself volunteering to help her search for the herbs she needed for her medicine and remedies and why he'd even begun offering to share his kills with her even when she wasn't hungry. It was also why he realized that he no longer felt revulsion whenever she would touch him and why he'd started staying close to her whenever he would rest or during conversations.

Yes, something had changed, and though it bothered him, deep down, he realized that... he didn't really mind said changes, even if, sometimes, they left him feeling unsettled; as having someone to talk to after living a life of self-caused isolation was (as much as he would _never_ outwardly admit it) a rather welcome change of pace for once.

Still, it wasn't enough to keep him from thinking of his revenge against the Hunter, for nothing could sway Ridley from this personal goal of his... especially not the beginnings of a friendship that would merely be fleeting.

There was far too much hatred between himself and Samus Aran by this point, after all.

* * *

High above the heavens, near the planet's orbit, a golden craft coalesced into view, accompanied by a brief flash of light. Within the cockpit sat a tall blond woman clad in a sleek, form-fitting suit which was sky blue in color. Her face was set in stern determination as her blue-green eyes swept over the various controls.

_The signal's last location was near that anomaly we just passed through, but now it's gone. Ugh, you're not escaping that easily, you son of a bitch._

"Hey, Samus," called a male voice, rousing the woman from her train of thought as she turned to address the one who'd spoken to her. "Take a look at this."

"What've you got?" she asked as she rose from her seat and moved to stand at the short man's left, her eyes widening at the sight of a very familiar planet's surface staring back at her from the screen. "Oh, shit. If Ridley's here, we need to find him and _fast_."

"I feel guilty for you getting sidetracked from this bounty," the man said, "but I'm grateful that you took the time to help me rescue my friends... and Bowser. Still, I wish there was some way we could pay you, given your chosen profession and all."

"Agreeing to help me find and take down Ridley is payment enough," Samus replied, turning her attention to him. "Normally I work alone, but I'll make an exception this once." _And **only** this once._

He was a short, stocky fellow clad in a set of blue overalls over a red shirt, with a pair of off-white gloves and medium brown shoes. A red cap hid most of his dark brown hair from view, a white circle with a capitalized 'M' set within the center.

His younger brother, who sat to his right, was taller and more on the slim side. While he was wearing a set of blue overalls, brown shoes, and off-white gloves like his sibling, the younger man's undershirt was green, matching his cap, which had a similar white logo, though with a capitalized 'L' instead of an 'M'.

These "Mario Brothers", as they tended to refer to themselves, were a strange sight, even to a person who thought they saw everything. No, it wasn't every day that Samus ran into people who could gain strength from... eating mushrooms... or who could conjure fire with the aid of certain flowers. At least they learned quickly, both having taken to the monitors and their controls after only a few training sessions.

Still, there was no way these two could be any help to her against someone as brutal as Ridley, but the bounty hunter kept this to herself as she raised a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, only to glance to her left when she felt a slight weight settle upon her shoulder with a soft sigh.

"Pika?" he asked, his beady black eyes holding concern as he slicked his ears back for a few seconds. "Pikpika pika Chupi?"

"I'm okay," the woman reassured, reaching up to run her hand over Pikachu's short fur, and she allowed herself a small smile when the yellow mouse-like creature gave a soft, high-pitched squeak at the attention. Ever since she'd rescued him from being used as a living battery from that facility a few years ago, the little Pokémon had refused to leave her side. Deep down, Samus was grateful for the company, though she would never admit it.

"With the signal practically cold, we have no choice but to scan the surface for him," Samus concluded after a few moments of silence, though the very notion of having to guess irritated her to no end. "Let's pick a hemisphere and go from there."

"Righto, Boss Lady," Luigi replied with a salute, and the bounty hunter barely fought back a sigh when Mario leaned over to elbow him in the ribs.

_I just hope we're not too late._

* * *

Back within the clearing he'd called home for the past week, Ridley's amber eyes snapped open before the lanky space dragon swiftly rose to all fours, his tail lashing in unease as he glared heavenward, a low growl sounding in his throat.

"Ridley?" Katja called, but the space pirate kept his attention fixed upon the night sky. "Are you okay?"

"Gather your belongings. I believe it's time for us to move on," he stated, his gaze slipping over to rest upon the human at where she stood close to his left. "Start dismantling the campsite, it's no longer safe here."

"Good," she replied, her words causing him to finally turn his head to look at her. "I've been wanting to leave for a while now, but I..." she trailed off, a light blush of embarrassment coloring her cheeks as she looked down at her boots. "I never wanted to say anything because I didn't want you to feel like you've been a hindrance to me."

"It's fine," he assured, leaning over to gently touch the tip of his muzzle to her shoulder, an action he'd found himself doing quite a bit lately, though he kept the contact brief. "Could you stack the shrapnel closer together? I plan on getting rid of it. I can't risk others finding it once we're gone."

"Excellent point," the girl replied, nodding in agreement as she raised a hand to touch one side of his muzzle, the contact lasting for only a second before she turned her back to the large reptile and moved back to their tiny campsite, her cloak swishing about her slender form. She'd been wearing it more often, he'd noticed, but felt no reason to bring it up, as the coloration and continuous loss of the surrounding trees' leaves along with the decrease in temperature told him all he needed to know.

Ridley found himself smirking in silent commendation at Katja's forethought when he saw her moving the shrapnel closer to the point of the escape ship's explosion, though the larger pieces gave her a bit of trouble, so he helped her to move those ones before he cautioned her to stand back.

He glanced towards where he'd last seen the magic-user, making sure that she was well out of harm's way before he took a deep breath and exhaled, the high-pitched whine of his plasma breath sounding across the clearing as he reduced what remained of his escape ship to nothing but a molten mess.

When he turned to check on his companion, he saw that she'd already doused the campfire and he did what he could to help her make it appear as if the clearing had been untouched aside from the scorched area caused by his ship crashing a week prior.

Little did the pair know, however, that their luck was on the verge of soon running out.


	7. A Ring of Truth

_**Author's Note:**__First off, I want to apologize for disappearing without a trace for the past few months, due in part to getting swept away by the hype for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and having come away from seeing it with very mixed feelings overall, I regret allowing myself to become excited for it like I had been and for allowing Influence of Empathy to fall to neglect. Also, I've been having a pretty rough time irl, so that's another reason for why I suddenly disappeared and, again, I apologize for this._

_This chapter was also rather difficult to finish, as I'm not used to writing vampires __**at all**__, so I apologize if I get anything incorrect even though I'm drawing from the Netflix series rather than the games themselves due to being more comfortable with and preferring it in some aspects. _

_Lastly, I wanted to give a shout-out to a writer who probably no longer comes around, but her single work has had a big influence on my own writing since I read it eight years ago. Even if you guys don't really frequent the movies section of this site, I highly recommend giving Serena Inverse's The Turning Point a read._

_Special thanks go out to my beta-readers, Ayaluki and CatSnievans, you guys are the best!_

_**Disclaimer:**__As always, the Metroid franchise, the Super Mario Bros. franchise, the Pokémon franchise, the Super Smash Bros. franchise and all their respective characters are © Nintendo while the Castlevania franchise, its settings and characters are © Konami. My original character, Katja, belongs to me._

* * *

_**Summary:**_ _After his latest battle with his nemesis, Ridley crashlands in Wallachia, where he finds himself befriended to one of the local residents. Little does he realize the impact such a meeting will have on his life._

_**Warnings**_**: **Very AU, redemption fic, violence, language, OC, headcanon, eventual Ridley x OC (yep, I'm goin' there.)

* * *

_**Arc 1:**_  
_**The Search For Simon**_

_**Chapter 7:  
**__**A Ring of Truth**_

* * *

The pair stood silently within the light of the steadily fading glow of the molten mess of metal as it cooled. Had he been less focused on faking his demise, Ridley would've noticed the several verbal missteps he'd made within the past five minutes, having said 'we' and 'us' rather than 'I' and 'me'.

That was the least of his worries at the moment, however, though it _did_ tie in to what had been bothering him since the morning he'd allowed Katja to comfort him while... while he'd been...

Afraid? Vulnerable?

... Both?!

Damn it, he shouldn't have allowed her to comfort him! Trying to peg down these feelings of discomfort was beginning to drive him mad!

"Are you okay?" the human asked, moving to place a gentle hand on his arm, "you seem distracted."

"Yeah," he lied, forcing a reassuring smile as he met her gaze for a moment, "I'm just trying to think on the next course of action."

"Okay, I'll make one final sweep of the clearing to see if either of us missed any details," Katja replied, giving his arm a gentle pat before she turned and moved off towards the center of the place that had been their temporary home for the past week.

Once she was out of earshot, Ridley allowed himself to exhale deeply through his nostrils. Physical contact between them in general may not have made him feel revulsion anymore but, the rarer instances of prolonged contact still made him feel rather... awkward.

_What is she __**doing**__ to me...?_

Gritting his teeth, Ridley gave his head a hard shake to dismiss the confused thought. There were more pressing matters to deal with at the moment, damn it!

_I wonder..._ he thought silently, his tail twitching a bit as he turned to study his left wing. It had stopped hurting completely a couple of days ago, but the space dragon had been hesitant to remove the splint and bandages since he'd felt a bit of stiffness when he'd begun exercising his wings once the severe pain in his left wing had subsided enough to allow for such movement. Now, however, the appendage felt... better.

Ridley took a moment to steal a glance to see where Katja was (and if she was paying attention) before he began removing the bandages, allowing the light brown cloth to fall to a crumpled heap at his feet.

"Don't," Katja admonished, and he glanced over to see her reaching out to stop him, "you might hurt your wing!"

"My wing has recovered," he replied, not once faltering in his self-given task as he allowed the splint to drop to the ground as well before he moved to stretch his wings to their full span, his luminous eyes falling closed for a few seconds in bliss before he met her gaze. "I'll show you."

"Okay, but if it starts bothering you, _please_ land," the girl replied, and he noticed the worry within her voice as she spoke. The space pirate merely grunted in acknowledgement to her words before he turned his attention towards the night sky, giving the leathery appendages a single hard flap as he kicked off into the air, his steady wingbeats carrying him higher.

He took a moment to glance down at the clearing, which was steadily growing farther away, and he blinked when he caught sight of a tiny pale form winging its way after him.

_Katja's owl form,_ he realized as he leveled off into a lazy circle over the clearing in order to give his wings a rest. He looked about, finally seeing her flying behind him. Her wingbeats were _completely_ silent, which was something that bothered him immediately along with the fact that, if he lost track of her visually, her tiny form would be difficult to quickly pick out again even with how her pale plumage stood out in the darkness. Sure, he could keep track of her by scent, but if the weather were to suddenly change on them during mid-flight, he would end up losing track of her completely, and this bothered him beyond belief.

"Going back," he called, and he frowned when her only reply was an unsettling screech. So, she couldn't even communicate in that avian form of hers? Sighing, Ridley spilled air from his wings before he began a spiral back down to the clearing, his claws leaving shallow furrows in the ground when he landed, which he immediately dealt with.

Another screech caught his attention, and he turned to see Katja's owl form swooping towards him, talons outstretched. Without thinking, the space dragon raised an arm, which the currently shapeshifted girl landed upon lightly, her talons feeling odd against his hard scales as her feet grabbed onto him for support, her pale wings flapping rapidly a few times for balance before folding against her sides as she settled down.

_This doesn't feel right,_ he thought, his amber gaze never leaving the avian as he watched her preen herself. _I __**know**__ this bird is Katja, but something about this is... off._

Not only that, but Ridley preferred Katja when she was in her true form even though she was earthbound, and... a human. It just didn't feel right to him for his friend to be confined to a tiny form incapable of worded communication. Katja was sentient, this barn owl was _not_.

In short, he wanted _Katja_ with him on this journey, not some avian; which meant that he was going to have to... carry... her.

_It also wouldn't kill you to thank her,_ that part of his mind added, _this would be a way of doing so without you having to tarnish your pride by vocalizing it._

"Katja, change back," Ridley commanded, choosing to ignore 'Gray Voice' even though he knew that the chozo _did_ have an idea... albeit an awkward one.

The currently shape-shifted magic-user tilted her head to one side as she blinked at him, and Ridley found both actions unsettling. She made an odd, soft vocalization before she hopped off his arm and fluttered to the ground nearby. Her reversion back to her true form was quick, taking only a couple of seconds before the human reached down to dust a bit of imaginary dirt from her right pant leg.

"What's wrong?"

The space pirate commander saw her blink when, instead of verbally answering her, he moved to crouch low to the ground, his amber eyes fixed upon her hazel ones.

"Ridley... are you sure?"

"I am," he replied with a nod, "your owl form is too small and quiet for me to keep track of at night."

"It's how the species evolved," she countered, "but you've got a point there."

He watched her approach until she stopped a mere foot away from his right side, her brow furrowing in confusion as she gripped the strap of her satchel tightly.

"Um, where do I...?"

"Sit on my back," he explained, keeping his tone patient, "behind my wings."

"Okay," she replied softly, her voice holding a note of embarrassment, and he arched an eyeridge when she proceeded to walk around him before he realized that she'd done so in order to keep from accidentally kicking him in his still injured side, and he silently appreciated her concern.

"Use my arm as a step if you need it," he added, "you won't break it... I hope."

The last part was added with a teasing note and he smirked when he heard Katja give an annoyed huff, knowing that she was glaring at him for the quip. He remained as still as possible when he felt her swing herself up onto his back, and he felt a sense of gratitude when he noticed that she was careful about resting her leg too heavily against his left side as she settled down on the spot he'd pointed out to her.

"I didn't need to," she retorted, her tone indignant. "Don't make fun of a woman's weight, it's very rude."

Ridley's only reply was a snort of laughter, though he wondered if using such a tactic against the Hunter would work. She _was_ a female human as well, after all.

_Nah, not worth the hit to my dignity,_ he concluded silently, smirking for a moment before he rose to all fours, keeping his movements slow so he wouldn't cause his passenger to go toppling from his back.

"So," he asked, turning his head to look back at her, "in which direction is this Transylvania?"

"That way," she replied, pointing towards the mountains that he could see far off in the distance when he turned his head to follow the gesture. "Towards the Southern Carpathian Mountains. Transylvania lies just beyond them."

"Along with the one you seek," he finished, his tone oddly soft before he cleared his throat. "Brace yourself, then. We leave now."

Though he knew that he could just kick off into the air, Ridley didn't want to risk jarring the girl and, so, the lanky dragon began to run forward upon all fours in order to gain the speed and momentum he needed before he spread his wings to catch the wind and launched himself up into the cloudy ink-black sky.

* * *

Katja kept a firm hold of Ridley's scaly hide as the draconic beast rose into the air after taking a running start, which was an action she appreciated. As they climbed higher, she took a moment to glance down and watch as the clearing fell farther and farther away until it was swallowed altogether by the vast expanse of forest; and she waited until Ridley had leveled off before giving a shout of joy.

"Are you all right?" the dragon asked, turning his head to look back at her, and Katja couldn't help but be amused at how concerned he sounded. Did he _honestly_ believe she was _scared_?

"Of course I am," she replied, unable to help but laugh when Ridley furrowed his brow in confusion at her tone. "This is _way_ better than flying as an owl!"

* * *

_I don't know why I thought she'd be afraid,_ the space pirate thought to himself with a mental facepalm. _She's used to flying._

_It's natural to show concern for someone you care about, Ridley,_ 'Gray Voice' stated, and the lanky dragon felt himself inwardly bristling at the chozo's assumption.

_What?! You seriously believe I __**care**__ about her?! Don't be ridiculous!_

"Are _you_ okay?" Katja asked, startling the dragon from his mental argument. "Do we need to stop so you can rest your wing?"

"No. I'm fine," he replied, glancing back at her for a second, "I've never been better."

"I'm glad," she replied warmly before she pointed upward, "do you think we could fly closer to the clouds? I've always been curious about what they're made of."

"You'll be surprised," he replied cryptically as he began to climb higher. "I warn you, though, the air is thinner at higher altitudes. If it gives you trouble, tell me and I'll bring us back down."

"I will, thank you, Ridley."

He grunted in acknowledgement, and he heard Katja gasp loudly when they'd flown close enough to one of the larger clouds for the human to reach out and touch the vaporous substance.

"Something wrong?"

"Not really," she replied, and he looked back to see her shaking her hands. "I didn't expect it to be so _wet_."

"That's what clouds _are_, Katja," he explained, though he couldn't help but smirk at her surprise. "Dry air and water. Ones at higher altitudes have a more icy composition."

He blinked when she fell silent, though he immediately noticed that she was giving the clouds an aside glance - something she tended to do whenever she was deep in thought.

"What are you up to?"

"I want to try something, if that's okay?" she asked, and he arched an eyeridge at her following request: "Could you stop and hover by that smaller cloud for a bit?"

"I can, yes," he confirmed, though part of him was half-expecting Samus's ship to suddenly come tearing out of the nearby cloudscape, guns blazing. "As long as it doesn't waste too much time."

"It shouldn't, thank you," she replied, patting his back with a hand as the space dragon moved them into position. He kept his attention upon the slender girl currently seated upon his back as she closed her eyes and raised her hands in front of her face. She remained still for a few seconds in concentration before she opened her arms in a sweeping gesture, the familiar appearance of what he now recognized as water magic glowing softly at her fingertips.

Ridley turned to look back in time to see the white mass of cloud beginning to shift and move, the sight causing his eyes to widen in amazement as a shape slowly began to form. He felt her shifting slightly on her perch, knowing that she was performing gestures associated with casting her spells.

"Could we move a few feet to the right?" she asked, and the space pirate commander realized that he'd been staring open-mouthed like an idiot.

"Yeah, hold on," he replied, giving his head a hard shake to clear the cobwebs before he flapped his wings and moved to where she indicated when he asked her to point it out, before once again pausing to hover. After what felt like close to an hour of the magic-user casting and periodically asking Ridley to move them to a different position near the cloud, Katja patted his back and announced that she was finished.

The cloud had been sculpted into an animal Ridley had never seen before, and he tilted his head to one side as he studied it. The cloud sculpture was something quadrupedal, though it was seated with its tail curled around its paws while looking over its right shoulder. He could make out a pair of erect triangular ears near the top of the head as well as a short muzzle and a pair of large almondine eyes.

"What is it?"

"It's a cat," she replied, though she wrinkled her nose, "or it's _supposed_ to be one, anyway. I wasn't able to do too much detail so it looks rather indistinct."

"I'm sure with practice you'll be able to add finer details," he assured her and when she smiled at him, he felt a strange surge of _warmth_ within his chest that was drastically different than the vice-grip pain he'd been experiencing lately. While _this_ equally strange feeling didn't _hurt_ per se, it still made him feel confused and uncomfortable.

"I'm happy you believe so," Katja replied warmly, "thank you."

"Yeah," the space dragon replied before he looked away and coughed. "I'm going to find a place to land and rest for a bit. My wing's beginning to bother me a little."

"Okay," she replied softly, "let me erase this first so that Hunter you told me about won't have anything to go by."

"Good idea," the draconic beast commended and he fell silent as the girl used her magic to return the cloud to normal, though he noticed that her breathing was becoming a bit more heavy. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, just tired," she explained, "if I cast too many of my stronger spells in a short amount of time for something I haven't done before, I'll tire more quickly because it takes much more concentration than for something I'm used to. I just need to rest for a bit, but I promise I'll be okay."

_Something she's used to... like fighting,_ the dragon realized, remembering that the two times he'd seen her cast during combat earlier that week, she hadn't seemed fazed at all afterward - even after she'd raised and frozen that wave at the river.

"Very well," Ridley replied with a nod, "brace yourself, I'm going to start looking for a place for us to rest."

"Okay, I'll help you look," she added, and when she was once again firmly holding on to him, the space pirate dove to a lower altitude not only to help Katja recover easier but so he could have a better time at spotting a place to rest without having to worry about his vision being obscured by clouds.

After about half an hour of searching, Ridley spotted a lake within a clearing that was half the size of the one they'd temporarily lived in together. He pointed it out to Katja, and she agreed that it was a good place for them to stop and rest.

"Landing," the space dragon informed as he banked into the beginnings of a spiral, "brace yourself."

* * *

Katja kept a firm hold of his violet scales, and the pair searched the clearing for any signs of occupation before he landed lightly on the ground and crouched down, allowing the young woman to hop down from his back.

"Do you need me to apply the medicine?" she asked, quickly ducking away when Ridley moved to extend his wings so she wouldn't be knocked off her feet.

"It wouldn't hurt," he replied, rolling his shoulders a bit as he tried to stretch his sore flight muscles.

Katja remained silent as she summoned a small ball of fire to help her see better, given how the moon was now waning since it had been full the night she'd first met Ridley. With her impromptu light source hovering nearby, the magic-user unshouldered her satchel and opened it before fishing out her jar of herbal medicine. Inwardly, she felt guilty for the dragon's current state of discomfort since he'd carried her during his first long flight. She'd been perfectly content to fly with him as an owl, but knowing exactly how damn stubborn he could be, she'd decided against fighting him on the matter as they would still be back at the clearing where he'd crashed a week prior trying to out-stubborn one another on how they should travel rather than making any sort of progress.

She shook her head in exasperation at the whole thing, softly sighing Ridley's name under her breath before she stood up with her jar of medicine in hand.

"Could you lie down so I can reach your wing?" she asked when she turned to face him. The dragon gave no verbal reply to her request, but he moved to lie down, his left wing spread to its full span. The magic-user felt his gaze locked to her as she approached and set to work, carefully rubbing the herbal concoction into the base of his wing before she was hit by a sudden idea.

"What are you- _ooh_..."

She couldn't help but smirk a little in amusement when Ridley's question was suddenly cut off, but she didn't allow his reaction to hinder her concentration as she worked the medicine into his stiff flight muscles, all the while doing what she could to work the kinks out of them without causing the dragon too much discomfort, however, the way he was arching his back towards her voiced that he was enjoying her treatment.

"I take it you've never had a massage before?" the magic-user asked, pausing for a moment when she spoke.

"No, but it's helping," he replied, his eyes closing halfway as he moved to rest his head against one of his forearms. "Could you... massage my other wing when you're finished?"

"Of course," Katja replied warmly, and she gently patted his back when she finished massaging his left wing before she paused to grab her jar and then moved around to his right side. The dry leaf litter crunched underneath the soles of her boots and she cursed when she tripped on a small stone that was hidden by the debris, having to brace against Ridley in order to catch herself before she fell.

"Sorry," she muttered, embarrassment washing over her in a wave when the dragon opened an eye fully to stare at her, his eyeridge arching in a silent question as to why she was leaning against him without permission. "I tripped."

He said nothing on the matter, and she waited patiently as the space pirate moved to stretch a bit before he once again settled down with a sigh, folding his left wing against his back in order to rest it before he extended his right one to its full span for her.

"Mm... you're so good to me..." he rumbled softly, his words causing her to smile sadly at him as she worked her medicine into the sore flight muscles. If his fellow Space Pirates treated him so poorly in regards to his health and physical condition in spite of his kinship with them, why would he choose to stay? She kept this question to herself, though, not wanting to strike a chord with the reptilian beast again, given how upset it had made him before.

Holding back a sigh, the magic-user turned her attention back to his wing and, after stealing a quick glance towards Ridley to see if he was paying attention, she reached out to gently touch the colorful, leathery membrane in hopes of sating her curiosity. In the firelight, she could make out the expanse of rich magenta, of which was accented near the trailing edges by a shade of deep saffron, both colors complimenting the smoky purple of his scales.

It was... strangely beautiful.

"Is there something fascinating about my wing?"

Katja gasped and froze when she suddenly heard Ridley's voice right next to her ear, his warm breath puffing against the side of her neck as he spoke.

* * *

"Sorry," she replied, and Ridley tilted his head quizzically at the embarrassment in her tone and, it could've just been a trick of the firelight, but he thought he saw the barest hint of a blush coloring her face as she explained herself. "I just wanted to see what it felt like, that's all."

"Then say something before you do it," he scolded, "I don't like it when someone touches me without a hint of forewarning."

"I'll remember that," she murmured, her voice soft as she gently placed her entire palm against the leathery surface of his wing membrane, and the space dragon's brow furrowed at this action. "And to answer your question, yes, I find them fascinating. The mix of colors is beautiful, like a sunset."

_These are not my original wings, yet..._ He blinked slowly at her, taken aback by her words. _She finds them to be... beautiful?_

_Not used to being complimented, are you,_ 'Gray Voice' stated, and Ridley looked away to cough into a clawed hand as a wave of what he could only describe as _awkwardness_ washed over him.

"I'm... going hunting," he informed after a moment of uncomfortable silence as he rose to his feet and shook himself lightly. "Be ready to leave when I return."

"Okay," the girl replied, giving his wing a gentle pat before he heard her boots crunching in the leaf litter as she backed away in order to give him room. "Be careful."

* * *

Katja smiled when Ridley turned his head to meet her gaze as he gave a single nod, the action equal to a verbal reply and more than enough for her. When he rose into the air, she had to raise an arm to shield her face from the dead leaves that, along with her long hair and her cloak, were whipped about by the backdraft from his wingbeats. Silently, she watched as his lanky form grew smaller as he flew away from the clearing, before eventually fading into the night sky entirely.

_The next time I watch him fly away may be the last, _the human thought with a deep sigh, pulling her gaze away from where she'd last seen him, knowing that she needed to prepare herself for when they would part ways for good. _As difficult as he is, I'll miss him._

Wordlessly, the young woman bent down to retrieve her jar of medicine before she replaced the lid and carefully placed it in her satchel. She dug around the pack for a moment before producing the bandages she'd retrieved while Ridley had been stretching his wings earlier that night. Even though he no longer needed them or the splint, Katja preferred to keep them as a precaution, just in case either of them were to encounter a mishap later on.

After closing her satchel and slinging the strap over one shoulder, the girl moved to the edge of the nearby lake, where she once again set the container down before she focused on washing the bandages. While she remained on edge, she felt assurance that Ridley wasn't too far from this clearing and that the water from the lake gave her a ready source for her water magic, thus eliminating the need for her to conjure ice first.

She was just starting on cleaning the second bandage when her impromptu light source abruptly fizzled out, the sudden darkness causing the young woman to freeze instinctively. The only time her magic would _ever_ just cut out like that was if there was something nearby that could block it. Witch hunters tended to utilize such, and Katja had forced herself to learn how to counter them early on during her time on the run, sometimes with rather unconventional methods, in order to destroy the source so she could properly dispatch her pursuers.

And so, she forced herself to remain calm in spite of the fact that her heart was now racing in her chest like a trapped bird's as she pretended to continue washing the bandage, feigning ignorance to the fact that whomever else was here didn't realize that she knew of their presence.

Behind her came the soft sound of leaves being disturbed by someone trying to sneak, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle and stand on end as she twisted the water-laden bandage tightly and pretended that she was going to wring out the access liquid before, without so much as a warning, she suddenly turned and lashed out with the impromptu weapon like a whip.

A cry of pain rewarded her efforts as the humanoid shape behind her stumbled back a few steps while clutching at its face. Wasting no time, Katja rose to her feet and bolted as fast as her legs could carry her, aiming to lose her would-be captor within the safety of the nearby treeline as she called out:

"RIDL-"

Her cry was cut short when she suddenly felt herself pitching forward, the air forcefully driven from her lungs as she hit the ground hard.

"A clever tactic, bitch," came a masculine voice from somewhere to her right, "but it won't be enough to save you this time."

Katja grimaced, forcing herself up onto her forearms before she rolled over onto her back, a pained groan leaving her as she sat up. She saw rope wrapped tightly around her calves, a small weight tied securely to both ends and she felt panic welling up inside her when she realized that there was no way she'd be able to free herself before her pursuers caught up to her.

She _had_ to try, though. Luckily, the bolas hadn't been aimed at her arms, so she drew her dagger and set to cutting the restraints. She mentally scolded herself for not bringing the piece of shrapnel she'd saved from when Ridley had destroyed the remnants of his ship, though, knowing that it would've done a_ far_ better job than the softer silver blade she had to work with.

"Hurry and restrain her before the dragon returns," came a second voice, also male, and her eyes widened in shock. "There's no way we'll be able to take them both on, even with the hag stone suppressing the girl's magic!"

They _knew_ about Ridley?! _How_?!

"You've evaded us for _far_ too long, water witch," a third voice, this time female, drawled from very close to her left, and Katja turned her head in time to see a tall humanoid fade into sight. "Luckily for you, one of my Lady's new allies wishes for you to be captured alive, as he is rather interested in your abilities."

Grimacing, the girl lashed out with her blade, only to miss as the other woman easily side-stepped the attack before, with inhuman speed, she reached out and roughly grasped Katja's forearm and squeezed, forcing the magic-user to relinquish her grip on the hilt of the dagger before the weapon fell harmlessly to the ground at her immediate left.

"You and you, bind her with the iron shackles," the woman snapped as she roughly pulled Katja to her feet, and the girl felt her blood run cold when she caught sight of the barest glimpses of sharp fangs as the other humanoid issued commands to her lackeys.

The woman was clad in plated steel armor, her night-black hair falling to just above her shoulders. She was paler than Katja, what could be seen of her skintone being rather pallid in appearance, but it was the color of the armor that drew the girl's attention the most, the silver hue silently voicing the creature's allegiance...

As one of Carmilla's soldiers.

Katja's time on the run was up, and she felt tears beginning to prick at the corners of her eyes from the realization that she wouldn't be escaping this time, and that she would _never_ see the few people she cared for again.

_Mama... Celes... Ridley... I was careless... I'm so sorry..._

* * *

Not far from their current stop, Ridley had fought and slain a bear, though not without the mammalian beast having scored a good hit to his chest and left arm with its long, hooked claws. While the bandages wrapped around his chest and midsection had lessened the blow dealt there, the cloth had still been mangled a fair bit, and Ridley had toyed with the thought of just discarding them before deciding against it.

The lanky space dragon couldn't help the grin that split his thin jaws as he tucked in, knowing that Katja was probably going to verbally lambaste him for getting hurt again while his side was still mending. He knew her anger towards him wouldn't last, though, before she would tend to him with the gentle care that he'd grown to enjoy.

_It's worth it, though,_ he thought as he ate, _bear tastes delicious, and these injuries are nothing but mere papercuts in comparison to most of the shit I've been through._

He'd just eaten his fill and had been about to cut off a portion of the meat to take back to Katja when a sudden feeling of _wrongness_ fell over him, causing the space pirate commander to blink and look about. It persisted, and he glanced back in the direction of the clearing, feeling his chest tighten as he realized that his friend was in danger.

He then heard a scream - his name - come from the same direction, only for it to be abruptly cut off.

"Katja!"

He took off, running on all fours while keeping his wings tightly tucked against his sides as he dodged and weaved around the trees, for once grateful for his lanky build. Flying was too risky, even this late at night, as he knew that his wingbeats would draw attention to him, so he would have to utilize a more stealthy approach if he wanted minimal harm to come to the girl.

As he drew nearer to the treeline that led into the small clearing, Ridley slowed himself to a crawl before he slunk forward, keeping himself as quiet as he could while trying his best to keep from disturbing the damned leaves that blanketed the ground. He paused when he could see into the clearing, where he counted three humans: two men and a woman.

_Katja,_ he thought worriedly when he saw her lying on the ground, and a low growl left him as he saw the woman roughly haul the magic-user to her feet.

It was time to get to work, and Ridley smiled as he allowed his natural camouflage to hide him from view before he, while carefully minding his steps to keep noise minimal, slowly began to slink into the clearing behind the three strange humans before he closed his eyes to keep their natural luminescence concealed, as it would be a dead giveaway of his whereabouts in the darkness. While he rarely used his camouflage for actual combat, he felt he didn't really have a choice in this situation; plus, with the darkness forcing him to rely upon his senses of smell, hearing and touch (to a lesser extent) rather than his sight, he was practically going to be fighting blind.

"Fucking shit," he heard one of the men growl, and Ridley scented fresh blood, which told him that the human had been wounded recently. "That bitch nearly took my eye with the stunt she pulled."

_You're about to lose more than that, _the dragon thought as he felt a surge of pride towards his friend for being able to wound one of her captors without resorting to the use of her magic, and he waited as the second, uninjured man began to walk off towards the sound of the woman's voice, the sound of metallic jingling coming to Ridley's ears, which told him that the second man was holding some sort of archaic restraining device.

The dragon seized his chance, lunging for the wounded man and practically blindsiding him before snapping his neck in one swift motion. The second man, who'd only moved a few feet away by this point, stopped and, by the sound of the leaf litter crunching underneath his boots, had whirled around to face his now dead comrade, giving Ridley the precise moment to strike.

_I can't afford to be sloppy this time,_ he thought as he lashed out with his tail, _aim for the heart._

"What th-"

The man's surprised comment was cut off when he suddenly convulsed once before both the sounds of his knees giving out and his body slumping to the ground came to Ridley's ears, and he withdrew his tailblade, the tell-tale feel of warm blood splashing over his tail telling the reptilian beast that his aim had been spot on this time. Normally, he _hated_ making such clean kills but, with the two men dealt with, the space pirate commander would be certain to make up for it by tearing the remaining human apart at his leisure.

"_What_ is going on?!" the woman snarled, and Ridley grinned, lightly stepping round the two corpses as he prepared to deal with his last foe. He heard the dull thud of someone hitting the ground, knowing that the woman had finally released her hold on Katja, before the ring of steel sounded in the air as the armored human drew what sounded like a bladed weapon to the space dragon, probably a similar one that the rather feminine-looking man had used against him during that encounter between them a week prior.

_Something's... __**off**__... about her scent,_ he thought as he curled his upper lip, _something similar to that blond-haired man, but... __**what**__?_

"I _know_ you're there, lizard," the armor-clad female snapped, "show yourself!"

Ridley snarled under his breath, the insult making him want to fry her right then and there, but with how close he knew she was standing to Katja, his plasma would more than likely get her as well, so, that option was currently out. Plus, there was all this fucking leaf litter strewn about, and he knew that setting the clearing aflame would practically be like erecting a giant neon sign for Samus that advertised his exact whereabouts.

_Try to find me, weakling,_ he thought, sneering as he slowly moved to the left of the bodies, his attention locked onto the dark-haired human as he attempted to lure her away from his friend. Still, it bothered him to know that, _somehow_, this woman knew he was here, even with him being practically invisible and having been silent in killing the two men.

_**Mostly**__ silent,_ 'Gray Voice' corrected him smugly, _one __**did**__ voice a warning before you slew him. So, __**that's**__ how she knows._

_Shut up, bird,_ Ridley snapped inwardly, _I don't need your shit right now!_

* * *

Katja had wisely remained silent, so as to keep from giving the dragon's position away when he'd slain the two witch hunters. It was too dark for her to see well without her fire for a light source, and Ridley was currently keeping his luminous eyes mostly if not completely closed to keep himself concealed within the darkness, so she was unable to pinpoint her friend's location accurately. She flinched when the vampiress released her suddenly, unable to keep her balance thanks to the bolas still tightly wrapped around her lower legs, and she grimaced as she fell onto her side.

Her captor then drew her longsword, the ring of steel causing the girl to grit her teeth against the cacophony of sound and she cried out when the woman suddenly turned and backhanded the magic-user across the face with her free hand.

"I'll kill her if you don't reveal yourself!"

_No you won't,_ Katja thought, coughing and spitting out a bit of blood along with a molar that had been knocked loose. The girl worked her jaw in order to make sure it hadn't been broken, and she was grateful that the vampire had chosen to hold back most of her strength, rattled teeth being the worst of it. _You have your orders. Besides, you're just a lowly soldier: a vampire on the lower rungs of the hierarchy. Otherwise, one dragon wouldn't have you so on edge._

The glint of metal caught her attention, and Kaja saw her dagger laying next to her, though she made no move to reach for it... yet. In order to keep from drawing attention to herself, she would wait to finish cutting the bolas until Ridley and her captor were engaged in combat before, even with her magic currently negated, the young woman would do what she could to help her friend.

* * *

Ridley clenched his teeth to keep himself from roaring when he heard his friend cry out in pain, knowing that the woman had struck her in an attempt to goad him into revealing himself. He lashed his tail when the far-off scent of blood came to his nostrils, anger surging through him at the realization that _Katja_ _had been __**hurt**_. As much as he yearned to unleash his rage onto his foe for daring to harm the girl, he forced himself to continue playing the waiting game. She was bluffing, of that he was completely certain, knowing that if her employer _didn't_ want her to bring Katja back alive, she would already be dead.

That's how it worked, after all.

An idea came to him, then, and the space pirate took another step though, this time, he deliberately made sure to make as much noise as he could as he heard the dry leaves crunch underneath his foot.

_That's it,_ he thought, smiling when he heard the woman turn towards the direction of the noise, her armor a dead giveaway to his sharp hearing, and he fought down the urge to laugh when the idiot suddenly charged. _As I predicted._

He tensed as he waited for her to close the distance, and when only a few feet separated them, Ridley nimbly leapt to the left before he opened his eyes and allowed his natural camouflage to drop, grinning like a mad thing when she slashed out with her weapon, the blade whistling through the air as it caught nothing but empty space.

For someone clad in a suit of metal, she was fast, he gave her that, however, she was also foolish.

* * *

"There you are," the vampiress hissed, crimson eyes narrowing as she snapped her gaze towards the sound of crunching leaves. The reptile had become careless, so she now had a pinpoint on its position in spite of its natural invisibility.

From the half hour she and the two witch hunters she'd hired to accompany her on this mission had spied on the pair with the aid of the vampiress's own invisibility spell, the dragon that accompanied the witch wasn't very large (around halfway over six or so feet while on all fours and merely reaching ten and a half feet whenever it would raise up onto its back legs) and it held more resemblance to a gargoyle than to an actual dragon of legend.

_And __**I'll **__be the one to kill it in order to eradicate what hope the water witch has left,_ she thought, smirking as she prepared herself for the battle ahead,_ then Lady Carmilla will be certain to give me a promotion!_

Without another moment of hesitation, the soldier charged in the direction of where she'd heard the noise, her longsword poised and ready before she stopped and brought the blade up in an arc... only for it to hit nothing.

"Where are you?!" she snarled, her confidence once again faltering as she quickly glanced around, and her eyes widened when they met a pair of luminous amber eyes that suddenly materialized to her immediate left, quickly followed by the rest of the beast's emaciated-looking form.

"Right here," it purred, its voice masculine in tone as it - he, with a speed that matched her own, grabbed her by the right arm, the groan of bending metal sounding in her ears before the creature suddenly yanked on the appendage and she heard the crunch of steel armor and bone, along with the tearing of flesh as her arm was ripped from its socket, her fingers still curled tightly around the hilt of her longsword as the beast tore the limb in two at the elbow joint before nonchalantly tossing both halves to one side.

Sneering in spite of the pain, she struck out with her remaining arm, only for the reptile to lean out of her reach, and she felt more pain erupt through her abdomen before she glanced down to see the creature's skeletal tail sticking out of her stomach, knowing that the bladed tip was now protruding out through her back.

"Now that I have your _complete_ attention," the lanky beast drawled on, his thin maw parted in a smirk of delight as he spoke again, "I'm going to ask a few questions."

She laughed before grabbing his tail with her remaining arm, and she saw him arch an eyeridge when she pulled herself closer to him, her crimson eyes steadily meeting his before she hissed out, "What's the matter? Never seen a vampire before?"

"No," he replied, his brow furrowing for a few seconds in what she figured was confusion, which made her smile in spite of the fact that her own blood was running down her chin with every word spoken. What confusion the dragon felt was soon replaced by indifference as he spoke again, his voice holding a note of fury underneath the calm tone: "But you're resilient, which is _somewhat_ intriguing. Now, answer me this: why are you hunting Katja?"

"So, the witch has a name, hmm?"

"_Why are you hunting Katja?_" he repeated, his tone telling her that his patience was thinning, only for the vampiress to spit a mouthful of blood in his face. He roared in anger, and she laughed again when he tore her remaining arm from its socket and threw this one aside without bothering to tear it in two as he'd done with its counterpart. "Tell me!"

"Why don't you ask _her_?" she countered once, as soon as it had manifested, his fit ended. "I'm certain she'd be more willing to tell you, if she hasn't done so already, anyway. But, if she _had_, you wouldn't be asking _me_ now, would you?"

She smiled once again when she saw his eyes widen in a mix of emotions she didn't care to decipher. So, the little human wretch _hadn't_ told him about the artifact she'd been safeguarding for these past two years? How interesting.

* * *

While the brief fight and current exchange between Ridley and the vampire had been taking place, Katja had reclaimed her dagger and finished freeing herself from the bolas. The blade of her dagger was beginning to look a bit worn, and she made a mental note to sharpen it when she got the chance. Her left forearm still throbbed from where the woman had roughly grabbed her earlier, but nothing felt broken and her bracer still felt intact, so she figured the vampiress had held back her strength then as well. Her right cheek also hurt from where she'd been struck, and she was glad that the hit hadn't been enough to break her jaw. Still, Katja made a mental note to inspect it as soon as she could, once the vampiress had been dealt with.

Silently, the magic-user sheathed the silver weapon before she pulled herself to her feet and made her way back to the edge of the lake where she'd left her satchel and the bandages she'd been cleaning when she'd been captured. The hag stone had yet to be dealt with, meaning that her magic was still being blocked, and Katja grit her teeth in frustration as she felt around in her bag before her fingers closed around what she'd been seeking. She took a moment to feel the object, making sure that it was indeed what she was after, and a hiss of triumph left her when she felt that one end was a sharp point.

Pulling the oak stake from her satchel, Katja closed the bag and slung the strap over her shoulder before she once again rose to her feet and turned to face where Ridley and the vampire were. Even though she'd been forced to kill other people in order to keep herself safe, the young woman felt unsettled by how _casually_ Ridley was pulling the armor-clad humanoid apart, and while the magic-user couldn't clearly see what was going on (at least not currently), she could still _hear_ it, and this, she felt, was worse.

A sudden roar of anger from the dragon made Katja pause, and she waited till Ridley had once again calmed himself before she dared to approach.

"Well, look who's come to join us," the vampire drawled before she coughed, and Katja narrowed her eyes at the other woman before she turned her attention to her friend and held the stake towards him, a smirk forming on her lips when she heard the dark-haired humanoid hiss softly at the sight of the weapon.

"And _this_ is for...?" Ridley asked as he hesitantly took it.

"Killing her permanently," the girl replied, trying to keep her voice from trembling, feeling quite unnerved by this close call. "Stab it through her heart."

She saw her friend smile, and a shiver crawled down her spine at the sheer _delight_ brimming within the expression.

_He's enjoying this a little __**too**__ much,_ Katja thought grimly as she ran a hand through her brownish-blond hair, but she forced herself to watch as Ridley effortlessly tore off the vampiress's breastplate with his free hand before he slowly pushed the sharpened tip of the stake through the gambeson she wore underneath, the quilted cloth jacket doing little to protect its wearer. There were the sounds of flesh tearing and bone snapping as he pushed the stake into the soldier's chest, only to stop when she gasped out: "Remember... what... I said..."

Katja froze, her eyes wide at the realization that Ridley would now want to know her darkest secret, which she'd hoped to spare him of ever learning. Now, however, this option looked bleak, and this was confirmed when the space dragon stared at the soldier as if she'd magically regrown her arms before he sneered and shoved the stake completely through her, the sharp end erupting out of her back as the vampire coughed up blood and began rapidly decomposing, her legs giving out when the violet-scaled reptile finally pulled his tail free from where it had been impaled through her abdomen, blood splattering everywhere with the movement.

Wordlessly, Katja moved back and raised her arm to shield herself from the worst of it before she moved to where she saw the vampire's longsword laying on the ground. Grimacing, she reached down and pried the fingers from the hilt before she lifted the weapon, using both hands to grip it before she turned her attention back to where Ridley and the vampire's body were, a sigh leaving her when she saw that he'd moved off a few paces and had his back to her, his partially bloodstained tail lashing slowly as he tried to keep himself calm.

_Even though she's not a higher vampire like Carmilla, I'm __**not **__taking __**any**__ chances,_ the magic-user thought as she moved closer to the body a few steps before she braced her footing and, with a grunt, she used every ounce of her strength to swing the blade in a horizontal arc to lop the woman's head from her shoulders, only dropping the sword when she heard the head hit the ground, where it rolled to a stop a few inches from the body, which slumped to the ground on one side.

Katja took a deep breath and stepped around the ghastly sight before she slowly approached her friend.

_I have to tell him..._

* * *

"Stay away," he snapped when he heard the girl's footsteps coming closer to where he was currently sat, and he turned to glare at her over his shoulder, his tail lashing quickly once for emphasis.

"Ridley," she called, and he clenched his teeth when the so-called 'vampire's' words from a few minutes ago slithered through his mind:

_**"Why don't you ask **_**her**_**? I'm certain she'd be more willing to tell you, if she hasn't done so already, anyway. But, if ****she **_**had**_**, you wouldn't be asking **_**me **_**now, would you?"**_

"Ridley, I'm sorry," Katja's soft voice pulled him from his brief reverie, and he sneered at her apology.

"Are you?" he spat as he felt his anger spike and he rose to his feet before he turned to face her, his wings half-raised in a show of aggression as he stalked towards her. "_Are you_?! I don't take well to being lied to, human! I don't take well to it _at all_!"

_Says the hypocrite,_ that part of his mind sneered.

_Fuck you!_ Ridley snarled back silently, _I clearly remember that you __**also**__ lied to me, so __**you**__ have __**no god damned right**__ to call __**me**__ a fucking 'hypocrite'!_

"I am," she replied gently, only to cry out when he suddenly lunged forward and grasped her roughly by the upper arms, his amber eyes burning into her currently wide hazel ones as he hissed out: "Then tell me _quickly._"

"I'll _show_ you," she replied, her voice wracked with pain. Hesitantly, Ridley released the girl, the roughness of the action causing her to stumble back a couple of steps, and he set his jaw when she raised her hands to loosen a couple of the straps of her chestpiece. Rather than take it off, however, this time, she reached under it before pulling something small out from underneath it, and he tilted his head slightly to one side as he watched her reach back behind her neck with her left hand for a moment, his anger giving way to curiosity at her actions.

"They're after this," she explained quietly, holding the piece of jewelry up for him to see. It was nothing more than a simple metal band, lacking any sort of gemstone or bauble and it was currently strung upon a thin metal chain, telling him that she wore it as a pendant in order to keep it hidden.

"... it's just a ring. _Why the hell _would you be hunted over something so _mundane_?"

"Because _this_ ring is all that stands between us and total annihilation of humanity. It belonged to a man named Vlad Dracula Tepes... and he was the most powerful vampire to ever live. Long story short, while he can be - and has been - killed, his soul refuses to stay dead, returning every century - and _this_ ring is the key to his unholy resurrections. It's why I need to go to Transylvania and why I need to find Simon. His family, the Belmont Clan, have fought Dracula and his Night Hordes for centuries."

_Total annihilation of humanity, at least on this world, doesn't sound like such a bad thing._

_Katja would die, too,_ 'Gray Voice' cautioned, _remember that._

"What happened to cause this 'Dracula' to hate people so intensely?" the dragon asked, choosing to ignore the chozo's warning. "I'm genuinely curious about this." _He probably has a valid reason like I do._

"Centuries ago, people in the city of Târgoviște killed his wife because they believed she was a witch," Katja explained, and he caught her voice's momentary tonal shift to hatred when she spoke the word 'witch'.

_This __**again**__?!_ he thought in exasperation, _**what**__ is __**with**__ the people of this world believing that everyone who can cast magic will just turn around and kill them if they don't act first?!_

"And, let me guess, she wasn't."

"Exactly," Katja replied, sighing as she moved to clasp the ring's chain around her neck, before tucking it underneath her chestpiece and re-tightening the straps. "She was a medical doctor whose medicines and remedies worked wonders. He taught her everything she knew. Dracula was traveling abroad when the news of her death reached him, and he gave the people who killed her _a year_ to atone for this sin."

"And they didn't."

"They _celebrated_ her death, so, no."

Ridley stared at her for a long moment, unable to believe what she'd just told him before he lowered his gaze and smacked a hand against his forehead.

"So, they were _stupid_," he surmised, rolling his eyes skyward before he lowered his hand and met the girl's hazel gaze once again. "If people here are the descendants of the ones who killed his wife for such an _idiotic_ reason, _then they all __**deserve **__to die_."

"It's not that simple, Ridley."

"Not that simple?! Katja, people kill others _because_ of differences that they dislike! _Look at __**me**_! I had _no choice _but to join a ragtag group of thieves because the rest of the so-called 'civilized galaxy' felt that I was _nothing_ more than some feral beast! Hell, they didn't even bother to give me a _proper name _when they found me!"

"What?"

"Yeah, surprise, 'Ridley' isn't my true name," he explained, his tone bitter as he glared at the leaf litter around his feet, "_that_ is something I'll _never_ learn because _I have no family_..." He trailed off, lowering himself to all fours as he dug his claws into the ground, his tail lashing as he continued: "The people who found me called me 'Geoform 187'..."

He looked up when he heard her gasp, and he saw her slowly shake her head.

"That's _not_ a name," she replied, her voice filled with what he realized was disbelief and disgust. "Ridley, I'm so sorry..."

"Now, look at _your own situation_," he continued, switching the subject from himself to her: "You _are_ human, but because you can cast magic - _because you're __**different**_ \- people want you _dead_ because they believe you'll turn on them, but _I_ know otherwise."

He sighed and looked away a second time, his tail lashing as he tried to keep his re-manifesting anger reined in.

"You... you're one of the _kindest_ people I've _ever_ met, and I've lived my life believing that _nobody_ would _ever_ truly accept me for what I am."

_And the other two... one __**hates**__ me now because I didn't want my subordinates to see me as weak-willed. It's... a choice that's bothered me for the longest time, but it's too late to change what happened then. The second... is __**dead**__..._ He closed his eyes tightly and clenched his teeth. _It would be so easy to slay Katja and take the ring to Carmilla so she could bring this Dracula back to give these people what they deserve, but... I... I-I don't... I __**can't**__... _

"I can't do it..." he whispered, shuddering. _I... can't... kill her... Not Katja..._

_And what would be the point of such an action?_ 'Gray Voice' added, _your reason for wanting these people to suffer - might I add, for a __**centuries old mishap**__ \- would be dead because of __**you**__._

"Ridley, it's okay," the human murmured, and the dragon blinked when he felt her gently take his head in her hands, her warm palms resting against his scales. "If everything I told you awakened another unpleasant memory, I didn't mean for it to."

_You're too good to me... _

"You didn't," he replied quietly, only to pause as he caught sight of the bruise on her right cheek, realizing that was where she'd been struck earlier by that creature. A low growl left him, the vocalization causing Katja to pull her hands away before she took a cautious step back, and Ridley glared back at the mangled corpse, upset that he hadn't tortured the so-called vampire enough before he'd killed her with the help of that sharpened piece of wood Katja had given him.

"What's wrong?" the magic-user asked, her voice on edge, and he returned his attention to her before he raised a hand to carefully set it against the right side of her face.

"She hurt you," he growled, his tail slowly lashing as he fought to control his anger. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

"It's not your fault," Katja assured gently, and the dragon blinked when she raised a hand to rest it against his, and it was in that moment that he truly noticed just how much he dwarfed her. Still, it confused him that she hadn't flinched away from his touch until he realized that he wasn't handling her roughly... and that, for once, he _wasn't_ allowing his rage to run rampant. Stranger still, he felt her pulse, which had been rapid when he'd first touched her, steadily _calming_ as he maintained the contact.

_**Why**__ do you still trust me so much, Katja? Even after the times I've hurt and upset you..._

Ridley's thoughts were interrupted when he caught a certain coppery scent, and he sniffed a couple of times in order to confirm it.

"Katja, you're bleeding," he informed, grateful for the distraction from the overwhelming discomfort threatening to smother him. "I smell it."

"So are you," she countered, only to stare at him in slight annoyance when he lightly shook his head.

"It's not mine," he informed before clearing his throat as he fought to compose himself, his emotions still strewn haphazardly about, much to his frustration. His amber gaze flicked back to her when he felt her gently squeeze his hand (well, the best she could, anyway) before she pulled it away from his and raised it to gingerly touch her left bicep.

"It's not that bad," she assured him. "I'm tougher than I look."

"You should clean the wound," he replied as he reluctantly pulled his hand away as well, angry at himself for letting his temper skyrocket like it had. Damn it, it was enough that she'd gotten hurt during the attack and then he just _had_ to contribute to it!

_No-one ever said trying to protect someone else would be easy,_ that part of his mind informed. _That temper of yours is part of why it's been difficult._

"I would if I could use my magic. With how damn cold it is now, I can't afford to wash it out and not have a source of fire nearby for warmth. There's too much of a risk of me becoming ill."

"You can't?" he asked, confused. "Why?"

"One of the witch hunters has a hag stone with him," the human explained, and Ridley turned his attention to where the bodies of the two men he'd killed still lay. "It's blocking my magic, so I can't cast _anything_. Could you help me find it? I can't see very well right now."

"I can," he replied before the pair made their way over to the bodies. After a few long minutes of rifling through one of the corpses while Katja searched the other, Ridley found what appeared to be a small stone with a single hole through it near the left side, a leather cord strung through it to allow the man to wear it around his neck.

"Is this it?" he asked, grabbing the stone before he broke the leather cord with a single, hard tug and he heard Katja's footsteps crunching through the leaf litter as she approached.

"Yeah," she confirmed, relief within her tone, though the space dragon still heard an underlying note of wariness as she spoke. "It needs to be destroyed."

Ridley met her gaze, a small smile tugging at the ends of his muzzle as he shifted the stone into the palm of his hand and crushed it to powder with minimal effort, which he then allowed to fall onto the corpse like sand spilling from a broken hourglass.

"Try now."

* * *

Wordlessly, Katja concentrated upon summoning a small ball of fire, and she smiled in delight when the flame flickered into existence above the palm of her left hand.

"Thank you, Ridley," she murmured, gratitude within her voice as she reached out with her free hand to gently touch the bridge of his muzzle for a fleeting moment. "And thank you for saving me."

"Consider us even on that front," the dragon replied before he lightly nudged her in the direction of the lake with a hand. "Clean that wound, Katja."

"Not yet," she said while stepping around him, and she heard him snort in what was more than likely annoyance at her refusal to listen to him. "There's a few loose ends left to deal with."

Keeping her light source with her, Katja bent down to retrieve the vampiress's longsword and she gave the weapon a wistful look before she exhaled through her nose and moved to lay it among the humanoid's broken body. Thankfully, Ridley hadn't tossed the woman's arms and breastplate too far away from the corpse and the magic-user stepped back before she closed her eyes in concentration, her hands held close together in front of her face.

_Burn the body._

She retained this pose for a few seconds, a ball of orange light coalescing into existence between her palms before she sharply parted her hands, though her injuries caused her to clench her teeth as she forced herself to concentrate upon her self-given task. The ball of light split into two, both remaining near her fingertips before she gestured, a circle of fire appearing around the vampire's broken corpse before, with another gesture from the magic-user, the fire closed in on the remains.

Katja remained standing with her arms crossed over her chest, her attention upon the fire as she watched the body burn. She'd have to carve another stake to replace this one, but oak trees were easy to find out here in the wilderness. That was the least of her concerns right now, though, and when enough time had passed, she caused the flames to dissipate, leaving behind nothing but a pile of ash upon the leaf litter, which had remained unharmed by the fire spell.

_Now, scatter the ashes,_ she thought silently, exhaling softly against the pain of her injuries as she made a sweeping gesture with both hands, causing the wind to increase, lifting the ashes and some of the leaves off the ground before she snapped her arms out to her sides, causing the spell to end violently as the ashes were scattered round the clearing.

All that remained of the vampire was the molten remains of her armor and longsword, but that could be buried. The bodies of the two witch hunters were all that was left to deal with, and Katja started towards them, only for the sudden whistling of air to come to her ears before she felt something wrap firmly around her torso, effectively pinning her arms against her sides as she felt herself being lifted off the ground, the fireball she'd been using as a light source disappearing as her overall concentration was broken.

She screamed, terrified that someone else had found her, and Ridley had been eerily silent-

_Ridley... of fucking course!_

Anger overrode fear then, her eyes narrowing when _laughter_ belonging to a certain space dragon rang through the clearing, and she wanted nothing more than to dump the _entire_ lake over his head for daring to scare her like this so soon after she'd nearly been captured!

"Ridley, what the hell," she snapped as she squirmed in his grip. "You just took ten years off my life!"

"Now, Katja," he admonished, waggling a clawed finger at her from where he stood close to her right, and she saw that it was his tail that currently had her subdued, the last few feet of the appendage being what was firmly wrapped about her middle, the deadly blade pointed away from her, thankfully. "Is that the way to act when all I wanted was to help you feel better?"

"Screw you!" she shot back, his smug expression serving only to make her angrier. "For 'wanting to help me feel better' you're doing a piss poor job of showing it! For fuck's sake, put me down!"

"Mm, not until you give me the correct word."

"Ridley," she ground out through clenched teeth, "I _swear to God_..."

"Wrong. Seriously, don't make me toss you into the lake," he threatened as he pulled her closer to where only a foot now separated them, though the tone of his voice coupled with the way his draconic features were split into a smirk told her that he was only being _partially_ serious. "_Or_ I could just bend you over my knee and spank you for misbehaving."

"... you're having _way_ too much fun with this," Katja deadpanned, glaring at the dragon as his smirk widened, those amber eyes glittering mischievously. "Out of _all_ the dragons in existence, I _had_ to rescue the one who thinks he's funny."

This only garnered a fresh round of laughter from the lanky reptile, and Katja growled some rather choice obscenities under her breath when Ridley began sauntering towards the edge of the lake - with her in tow.

"Ah-ah, _language_."

"I'll show you 'language' when I get out of this," she grumbled, only to give a rather undignified squeak when Ridley moved to dangle her over the lake before he began to slowly lower her towards the water's surface. "Okay, _okay_, I'll patch myself up! God..."

"Mm, the correct word was 'please', but... close enough," he replied, his saccharine tone making her want to try rapping him across the muzzle once he released her but, knowing how easily his temper could surface, she thought better of it. He set her down a foot or so before the edge of the lake before releasing her and, to her annoyance, reaching over to ruffle her hair with a large hand before chuckling and moving off a few paces in order to wash the blood from his face and tail after he'd taken a moment to quench his thirst.

Katja rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth as she smoothed her hair back into place, her beads clicking faintly with her movements. As unconventional as it had been, his attempt at helping her to feel less rattled _had_ worked, at least a bit, and he'd been rather careful with handling her. After settling down at the edge of the lake in a kneeling position with both legs tucked under her, the human summoned another ball of fire to help her see before setting her satchel on her lap and opening it to make sure that Ridley hadn't accidentally broken anything with that little stunt of his.

Everything was still intact, thankfully, and Katja set her jar of herbal medicine out along with a bandage and her waterskin before she sat her satchel down to her immediate right. She then opened her belt pouch and pulled out a small vial, which contained an herbal powder that was able to be ingested. It was a different form of the medicinal paste she'd been using to treat Ridley's wounds and his wing when it had been broken, having figured he wouldn't have taken to the bitter taste of the powder itself. She also wasn't really a fan of the taste, but it was _far_ less messy in dealing with the pain and swelling of her bruised cheek.

Sighing softly, she set the vial down before taking a swig from her personal waterskin to clean her mouth out, taking a moment to spit it out to her left before she once again grabbed her vial, opened it and, with a grimace, quickly downed its contents before taking another swig of water. After refilling her waterskin and putting it and the vial away, she then removed her cloak, bracers and chestpiece before setting them close to her satchel, glad that none of the hardened leather armor had been damaged in spite of how she'd been handled roughly earlier by that vampire. Her cloak was starting to look a little worse for wear, unfortunately, and she grit her teeth in frustration over no longer having her spare one.

_You used it for a good cause,_ she assured herself. _Even if Ridley's an ass sometimes, but he can't really help that given everything he's been through. Still... _she trailed off, smiling a little, _he's been getting better at positive social interaction and I'm proud of him._

A sigh left her when she turned her attention to the left sleeve of her tunic, a frown creasing her lips when she caught sight of where Ridley's claws had torn through the cloth when he'd grabbed her by the arms during his earlier fit of anger, the fabric around the area stained with her own blood. Not only that, but (unlike her cloak) it was now effectively ruined and, therefore, useless to her until she could get the damn thing repaired, but there was no telling when she'd be able to stop in at a town or village to do so.

_This was my own fault, though,_ she admonished herself, _I should have been __**completely**__ honest with him from the very beginning..._

Muttering, Katja removed her tunic before tossing it on top of her armor and her brow furrowed as she assessed the extent of the damage. Even though they'd drawn blood, his claws had only nicked her, so she wouldn't be needing stitches.

* * *

Ridley was silent as he watched his companion remove her armor, this soon followed by her shirt, and he felt his chest tighten with the dull sensation he'd now come to expect every time he did something to hurt her, either deliberately or inadvertently, as he saw her inspect the wounds his claws had inflicted earlier.

Luminous amber eyes widened in amazement as he watched her gesture with her hands before a bit of water rose from the lake. Her magic was something he was still working on getting used to, even when it came to more minor spells like this one, as well as both the fire and wind spells she'd cast mere minutes earlier when she'd dealt with that vampire's remains.

_She's done this before,_ he thought as he watched Katja guide the water, which had now taken on a more serpentine shape, along the wounds on her bicep in order to clean them and noting how precise the movements were. _Many times._

After she'd returned the water to the lake, Ridley expected her to apply her medicine to the wounds, and he set his jaw when he saw her right hand become enshrouded within _fire_, which she used to cauterize the wounds, and he was surprised that the forced contact with the element didn't make her cry out, though he _did_ notice that her facial features were contorted a little from the discomfort. When he saw no burn left behind, he realized that the burn scars he'd seen before were _not_ from self-cauterization as he'd previously guessed. Either she'd been in combat with another magic-user, or...

He shook his head to dismiss the dark thought and while the slender human was busy applying her herbal medicine to the wounds, Ridley took a moment to study her more closely, having noticed a few details he'd missed since, the last time he'd seen her partially unclothed, she'd had her back to him. For one, he noticed that her breasts were covered by an off-white cloth similar to some of her bandages, and he figured it was a part of 'human modesty' or whatever nonsense that dictated they dress themselves in clothing around others. In all honestly, she could be stark naked around him and he wouldn't care less, though part of him couldn't help but wonder why she wasn't snapping at him to look away. Was she truly so comfortable around him even though they barely knew each other? Or did she understand that her sense of modesty didn't apply to a non-human like himself?

The space pirate exhaled through his nostrils, settling on the latter as he dispelled his current train of thought and focused on the second detail he'd noticed this time. There were three long diagonal cuts along the front of her abdomen, of which stopped at the middle of her left side, appearing to have been inflicted by some sort of beast. _How_ she'd managed to survive such a encounter was beyond him, since she'd been alone for the majority of her time as a vagabond, but he remembered her mentioning that she'd briefly traveled with a small group of people before, and he had a feeling that they'd probably helped her.

_She's been... lucky,_ he thought as he watched her seal her medicine jar before she placed it on her opposite side (back into her satchel, he surmised) before she used her dagger to cut one of his bandages down to a length that fit her more easily. After she'd fumbled a couple of times while trying to wrap them effectively, the draconic beast rose to his feet before he approached.

"Let me."

"Thank you," she replied, her voice oddly quiet, and she remained still as Ridley wrapped the bandages around her bicep before tying the strips together firmly.

He nodded in acknowledgement, and he paused when an emotion he _still_ had no name for overcame him, his chest aching again, and he moved to carefully lay a hand over her now bandaged injury, a quiet croon leaving him when he lowered his head to rest it against her bare shoulder.

"It's not your fault," she murmured quietly, and Ridley closed his eyes when he felt her gently set a hand against one side of his muzzle. "You had _every_ right to be angry at me for not being completely honest with you."

He remained silent, gently nudging her before he finally pulled back and turned to stare out over the lake as he tried to sort out his jumbled thoughts and emotions...

And the conclusion he ended up drawing disturbed him greatly.

Yes, he... cared... for this human, he could now admit it... to _himself_ at least. She'd done _so much more_ for him during the single week he'd known her - including helping him to fly again - than _any_ of his fellow Space Pirates had _ever_ done for him during the extent he'd been a part of their ranks. Sure, they'd kept him alive but, with their crude and painful methods of doing so, he'd sometimes wondered if they only kept him around for his strength and nothing more, _but_ they allowed him to slaughter to his heart's content with no restrictions on who or what he could destroy, so he'd stayed, moreso out of necessity than gratitude even though, deep down, he'd always felt like an outsider among them...

He'd always felt _alone_.

Ever since he'd crashlanded on this backwater world, however, there had been _no_ attempts to contact him and he'd assumed that it was because there was interference, but now he couldn't help but wonder if they had indeed assumed he'd been killed in the _Galleon's_ destruction and didn't care to come looking for him. There would be no remains to resurrect as one of their twisted machines once again, after all, and the thought of going through a second lifetime of _that_ made him force down the urge to shudder in a mix of fear and revulsion.

Did they... did they _ever_ truly value him as one of their own?

In comparison to how Katja - a member of the same species as his most hated adversary no less - had treated him, no, they... _didn't_.

His thoughts then turned to Kraid, the _only_ Space Pirate who'd regarded Ridley as a friend and equal but, back then, Ridley hadn't truly understood the value of their friendship... until _now_. Kraid had never really done anything for him outside of giving him the company he yearned for deep down, and vice versa, but that was better than nothing. Still, Kraid was dead and, until now, Ridley had been unable to mourn... or _care_.

The space dragon clenched his teeth as he squeezed his eyes shut, his tail lashing slowly behind him as he once again turned his thoughts to the source of this entire subject: Katja.

_How_ could _this_ girl, this single human girl suddenly come along and turn practically _everything_ he'd learned in on itself?!

While he'd been in her company, he'd felt... wanted... _appreciated_... And he'd experienced feelings he'd long believed to be weak and beneath him. He'd allowed her to comfort him when he was upset, he'd f_orgiven_ her for crossing him, he'd grown to accept her touch (for the most part), he'd _protected_ her from harm and, hell, he'd even _played_ with her in an attempt to help cheer her up! Sure, he'd toyed with others in a similar manner on numerous occasions, but there had _always_ been an underlying hint of malice on his part that had been _completely_ absent here.

Yes, he'd experienced these feelings and, outside of the initial discomfort from being unused to such, he... _he was fine_! Confused, but fine.

It was then that he was able to finally put names to the duo of emotions that had led him in circles for this past week while he'd been trying to pin them down to identify them: guilt and... happiness.

For starters, yes, being in Katja's company made him _happy_, and he could finally admit this to himself. This was the same feeling he'd sometimes experienced during his friendship with Kraid but, back then, Ridley hadn't _understood_ what it was and now... now... he felt guilty for not fully appreciating the camaraderie that the larger reptile had given him.

Lastly, he felt guilty for lying to Katja in order to gain her trust and companionship in order to use her magic against Samus Aran and her damned rodent and he felt guilty for his thoughts of discarding the girl once her usefulness was at an end.

Then, in this short span of time he'd spent within her company, _something_ had shifted his view of her from that of a pawn... to a _friend_.

No, he could _**never **_tell her the full truth of who he was. She would _despise_ him for it, just like the rest of the 'civilized' galaxy, and he _didn't_ want that.

At all.

Shit, this was one _hell_ of a spanner that had become wedged within the cogs of his plan to get off this goddamned world, and he would have to think of an alternative that would net the same results... _without_ him having to slay Katja after they'd dealt with both the Hunter and her pet electric rat.

Still, he felt obligated to help Katja to succeed in her own quest to find this Simon Belmont, but if Samus were to find them before they made it to Transylvania...

_Damn it all! What should I do?!_

"Ridley?" Katja's soft voice pulled him from his reverie, and he looked over to see her dressed once again, though she was wearing a different shirt now, this one a light shade of green as opposed to brown. "Are you okay?"

"Tired," he lied quietly, his voice sounding alien to his own ears, "we need to leave. It will be dawn soon and we both need rest."

"The witch hunters need to be dealt with first," she reminded him, "well, I _would_ have, but a _certain someone_ decided to be cute about how he _insisted_ that I take care of myself beforehand."

"Who, _me_?" Ridley replied, trying to act innocent, and he gave an amused rumble when Katja flipped him off before she set to donning her armor and cloak. "Go deal with them, then."

While the human girl burned the bodies and scattered their ashes, Ridley occupied himself with putting her things away in order to keep himself focused on their current situation, and he paused when he came to her torn shirt. After briefly glancing back to see if she was finished dealing with the bodies, he grabbed the article of clothing and held it up, his muzzle wrinkling in a mix of contempt for the thing and confusion at_ how_ to go about getting the blood out of the fabric before, with a shrug, he dunked the whole thing into the water.

"What are you doing with my tunic?"

"Cleaning it," he stated as he pulled it out of the water and, out of the corner of his vision, he saw the magic-user shake her head and facepalm. "That bloodstain would attract predators and we have enough to deal with as it is."

"Not the entire thing, Ridley," she explained, exasperated, though he heard a hint of amusement in her voice as well. "Only the left sleeve was bloodstained, and you don't just dunk it in the water, pull it out, and say "Ta-da!" That's _not_ how you wash clothes."

"I wouldn't know," he replied, smirking when she rudely snatched it from him when he held it out for her to take. "I don't wear any."

"I ought to smack you with this," she countered, twisting it tightly in order to wring out the access water before she shook the garment a few times and folded it.

"I wouldn't feel it if you did."

Katja rolled her eyes as she reached down with her free hand to grab her pack before slinging the strap over her shoulder, and Ridley caught the ghost of a smile on her lips that had accompanied the action.

"Thank you for trying to help," she said softly, reaching out to touch his muzzle when he leant down to gently nudge her shoulder, and he saw that she'd lain the now folded (and still damp) shirt over top of her satchel. "I'll figure out what to do with it."

"Later," he said before he lowered himself to all fours and crouched low to the ground. "It's time to leave."

Nothing more was said by either of them as Ridley allowed her to swing up onto his back for the second time that night, both of them remaining on edge and constantly keeping watch for signs of further attack, and it wasn't until they'd been flying for an hour that they both allowed themselves to relax.

Dawn was on the horizon when the nearby sound of thunder caught Ridley's attention, and he sniffed, catching the heavy scent of rain. Fucking _wonderful_.

_The Hunter has one advantage over me currently,_ he thought irritably, _that damned gunship of hers can weather storms and she's safe inside it._

"It's going to storm soon," he informed as he turned back to check on his passenger, "I'm going to start looking for a place for us to shelter in."

"No ruins," the girl replied, "most of them are infested with undead. While my fire spells _can_ deal with them, it's not as effective as blessed weapons or holy magic, neither of which I have."

"Damn... very well."

Luck was on their side, however, as he happened to spot a cave after a mere ten minutes of searching.

"Landing," he cautioned, and he felt her grab hold of his scales as he spiraled down to land a few yards from the large entrance, not wanting to disturb its current resident(s)... yet. Between himself and her magic, he believed that they could dispatch anything that could be living out here, though instinct reminded him to remain cautious regardless.

The thunder was far louder now, and Ridley glanced up to see that the once whitish-blue clouds that rested in the sky were now an angry gray-black and he was soon rewarded for his observation by a large drop of rain hitting him right between the eyes, of which was followed by several more splattering against his scaly hide until it was raining in earnest.

_Karma for talking of throwing her into that lake, I guess,_ he thought as he shook himself. _Even though I was joking._

"Ridley?" Katja called, and he looked over to see her peering out at him from the cave's entrance, that little flame of hers once again levitating close to her left. "While you were busy gawking at the sky, I went to check and see if this cave was occupied and, luckily for us, it's not. I don't think anything's lived in here for a while, honestly."

"Give me a few minutes," he replied, suddenly remembering that he hadn't shared his earlier kill with her due to the attack, and he silently berated himself for forgetting.

And so, he went hunting in the rain, and he was bedraggled when he finally joined her in the cave, having only a single rabbit to show for his efforts and he declined when she offered to share the meager catch with him before finally revealing what had happened before the attack. While she was upset at him for not telling her about the bear hurting him (and _furious_ at _herself_ for not noticing), she reluctantly dropped the matter when he assured her that the cuts it had inflicted on him only needed minor treatment, which she promptly gave after finishing her meal and feeding the bones and viscera to the fire she'd made at the very back of their temporary shelter.

He settled down close to the fire, and he was beginning to drift off when he felt something light being set on top of him, his eyes snapping open to see the human draping her cloak over him the best she could which, given his size, wasn't much.

"Katja-"

"You're _soaked_, Ridley," she admonished, "the remnants of the bandages I pulled off of you are completely ruined and I feel guilty for not thinking to check your side even though it's almost healed. So, you need this more than I do."

"Very well," he murmured tiredly, a wide yawn gripping him before he shook his head and settled down once again, a quiet sigh leaving him as he closed his eyes. "Katja... so good to me..."

* * *

_Those words again,_ the young woman thought sadly as she gazed down at him, and only when she was certain he was completely asleep did she reach out to set a gentle hand on the crown of his head, just before the beginning of his short crest. _Oh, Ridley..._

"You want to know something?" she asked quietly, even though she knew he couldn't hear her, but she moved to sit cross-legged right next to him before she softly stroked his crest once, her hand returning to its original position, where it remained. "The night we first met, I wasn't sure if saving you was the best idea, but I knew I _couldn't_ leave you there to die broken, bleeding and..."

She trailed off, her voice hitching, and she took a slow, deep breath to keep herself composed before she pressed on.

"... Alone. _Nobody_ deserves to die alone, and I'd sooner be damned to eternal torment before I'd allow that to happen to you. I promised I'd take care of you until you recovered and, damn it, I'm going to keep my word. You may see yourself as a burden to me and a hindrance to my quest to find Simon, but you're _not_ a burden to me. You never have been and I'm sorry you think of yourself in such a negative light."

She smiled sadly, wishing that she had the courage to tell him everything while he was awake so he could know that her positive feelings towards him were genuine.

"You may be difficult to get along with at times, and I know you'd deny it if you heard me say this but, I believe that underneath your violent tendencies and that hardened exterior you prefer to show to the world, you have a good heart," she whispered softly to the smoky purple dragon slumbering next to her, "I'm so sorry you've been through such difficult struggles, and I wish I could heal _those_ wounds. I wish for that more than anything, _especially_ if it means helping you to see that opening up to someone else _doesn't_ always result in pain and betrayal. Hell, I feel _awful_ for keeping the existence of Dracula's ring a secret from you. I..." she trailed off, a soft sigh leaving her as she looked away and wiped her eyes on one of her sleeves. "I kept silent about it for so long because didn't want to drag you into this... Not _this_."

She sighed as she pushed her long braid back over her shoulder, and her tone was wistful when she spoke again:

"There's _so much _I want to say to you, but I don't know how you would react, or if you would even believe me. I'm _happy_ I met you, Ridley, I really am and I'm _honored_ that you trusted me enough to open up to me back at the lake, even if it was just a little. You didn't have to help me when I needed it, you never had to share your hard earned kills with me whenever you'd go hunting and you didn't have to stay with me once you could fly again, but you did, _you stayed_, and I'm grateful..."

She trailed off yet a third time, smiling warmly down at him before she moved to touch her forehead to his for a brief moment.

"I'm so grateful to you for _everything_, my friend. Sleep well."


End file.
